Gone (26 page)

"Because if you have to shoot, you shoot to kilL Situation like that, you're not aiming careful!/ for his head or his heart, you're pointing at the center of m*ss and you're hoping you get a lucky shot, but if you don't, if all you're hitting is shoulder or belly, the sheer velocity of the rounds will still knock him down "

Drake didn't think it would take six shots to kill Astrid.

He remembered with vivid, slow-motion detail the time he had shot Holden, the neighbor's kid who liked to come over and annoy him-That had been a bullet to the thigh, with a low-caliber gun and still, the kid had nearly died. That "accident" had landed Drake at Coates-

He was holding a nine-millimeter Glock right now, less powerful than his father's tbrty-caliber Smith & Wesson, but a lot more gun than the target twenty-two he'd used on Holden.

One shot would do it. One for the snooty blonde, one for the retard. That would be cook He would come back, give his report to Caine, and say, "Two targets, two rounds" That would wipe the smirk off Diana's face,

Astrid's house was not far. But the trick would be to get her before her little brother used the power to disappear again-

Drake hated the power. There was only one reason why

Caine and not Drake was running the show: Caine's powers.

But Caine understood that the kids with powers had to be controlled. And once Caine and Diana had all the freaks under control, what was to stop Drake from using his own nine millimeters of magic to tak* it all for himselt?

First things first.

He stared at Astrid's house from halfway down the block. Looking for any sign of which room she might be in.

He crept around to the back and up onto the back porch. The door was locked. Anyone vvho locked their back door locked their front door. But maybe not their windows. He hopped up onto the deck railing and leaned out to get a purchase on the window. It slid up easily. It was not an easy thing getting through the window without making a lot of noise.

It took him ten minutes to go through every room in ihe house, look in every closet, under every bed, behind every curtain, even look into the attic

He felt a moment of panic then. Astrid could be anywhere. He would look like a fool if he dkin't get her.

Where would she go?

He checked the garage. Nothing there. No cars, certainly no Astrid. But there was a lawnmower, and where there was a lawnmower, there would be ... yes, a gas can.

He wondered what would happen if Astrid and the retard magicked their way into a burning building?

Drake opened the gas can, went to the kitchen, and began drizzling the gasoline across the counters, into the family room, a splash for the drapes, trailing into the dining room, across the table, and another splash for the front curtains.

He couldn't find a match. He tore a piece of paper towel and lit it on the stove. He tossed the burning twist of paper onto the dining room table and left by ihe front door, not bothering to close it.

"That's one place she won't be able to hide" he told himself

He raced back to the plaza and up the stairs of the church. The church had a steeple. It wasn't very talk but it would give him a pretty good perspective.

Up the circular stairs. He pushed a hinged hatch and climbed up into a cramped, dusty cobwebbed space dominated by a bell. He Carefully avoided touching the bell—the sound would carry.

The windows were shuttered, covered with angled vents that let airllow through and sound resonate out, but only allowed him to see down. He used the butt of the rifle to knock the first vent out. It tumblec to the ground below.

Kids in the plaza looked up. Let them. He smashed the other three vents out and they clattered down. Now he had an unrestricted view in every direction across the orange tile roofs of Perdido Beach.

He started from Astrid's house, which was already beginning to smoke. He worked his way methodically, a hunter, looking for any movement. Each :ime he spotted someone walking or running or biking, he would take a look at them through the rifle scope, line them up in the crosshairs.

He fell like God. All he had to do was squeeze the trigger.

But none of the moving shapes far below was Astrid.

There was no way to miss that blond hair. No. No Astrid.

Then, just as he was giving up, he spotted a flurry of activity down at the marina. He swivded the scope> and suddenly Sam Temple was clear in the bright circle. For a moment the sights were on his chest. But then he was gone. He had jumped onto a boat.

Impossible. Caine had Sam up at the school. How had he gotten away?

Edilio and Quinn were on the boat too> pulling away Drake could see the water churning from the motor.

Quinn. That's how Sam had gotten away. It had to be.

Drake would have to have a nice talk with Quinn.

On ihe dock he could make out Ore waving a bat, yelling, unable to do anything. The boat gathered speed and arced north, leaving a long white wake drawn like an arrow on the water.

There was no question Sam would try to find Astrid. And he was heading north.

The power plant. Had to be.

Drake cursed and, again, for just a moment, felt the almost desperate tear of failing Caine. He wasn't worried what Caine would do to him—after all, Caine needed him—but he knew if he failed to carry out Caine's orders, Diana would laugh.

Drake put down the rifle. How could he reach the power plant ahead of Sam?

There was no way. Even if he took a boat he would be playing catch-up. A car? Maybe. But he didn't know the way and the trip by boat would be more direct. It would take him a while to get down to the marina and . .. but, wait. Wait a minute.

The motorboat was pulling a U-turn, "Aren't you clever, Sam?*' Drake whispered. "But not clever enough."

Through the scope he could just make out Sam's face as he stood at the wheel, wind in his face, having escaped from Caine, having outwitted Ore, and low all cocky and sure of himself as he sped south.

There was no way to take a shot from this distance. Drake knew that.

He traversed the gun sight south and stopped at the barrier. Sam wouldn't have far to go in that direction.

The beach at the bottom of the cliffs? If she was down there, Drake could never reach he' before Sam got there in the motorboat. If she was down there, the game was over.

But if not... if she was, say, in the hotel, Clifftop? Then, he had a chance if he moved fast.

How great would it be to shoot her right where Sam Temple could watch?

127 HOURS, 45 MINUTES

ASTRID ALMOST MISSED spotting the boat. She had gone to the window only to draw the shades. But out of the corner of her eye she saw the motorboat out there, the only thing on the water.

For a brief moment she'd wondered if it was adults, someone coming to rescue them from the FAYZ. Bui no> if rescue was coming from outside the FAYZ, it wouldn't be a single open boat.

And, anyway, Astrid was convinced, no one was coming. Not now. Probably not ever.

She squinted but could not tell who was on the boat. If only she had binoculars. It seemed like it might be three people. Maybe four. She couldn't tell. But :he boat was speeding closer.

She knelt to see what was still available in the minibar refrigerator. During their last stay, she and Sam and Quinn had almost cleaned it out, All that was left to eat were some cashews.

She would need to leed Little Pele sooner rather than later. Before whoever was on the boat got here-

"Come on, Petey" she said, and guided him up from the end of Ihe bed. "Come on, we're going to gel some food. Munchy munchy?" she said, using a trigger phrase lhal sometimes worked-"Munchy munchy?"

They could head for the Clifftop restaurant and probably find something there, maybe cook a chicken sandwich or something, or at least find some ycgurt or whatever. Or they could play it safe and just empty out the minibars in other rooms.

She opened the door. Looked out into the hallway. It was empty.

"Candy bars it is," she said, realizing she just didn't have the nerve to go down to the restaurant.

The room next door had a minibar but no key in the lock. She tried three more rooms before realizing that she had just been lucky that first night. The refrigerators were all locked. But, wait, maybe all the keys were interchangeable.

"Come on, back to our room," she said.

"Munchy munchy," Little Pete protested.

"Munchy munchy" Astrid confirmed. "Come on, Petey,"

Out in the hallway again and then she heard the ding of an elevator. The smooth electric motors opening the door.

Was it Sam? She froze, poised between fear and hope.

Fear won.

The elevator was at the end of the hall and around a bend-She had seconds.

"Come on" she hissed, and pushed Little Pete forward. With fumbling fingers she slid the passcard into and out of the slot. Too fast. She had to do it slower. Again. Still no green light. One more time and now she could hear the elevator door closing.

It was him. Suddenly she knew it was Drake.

''Hail Mary lull of grace, the Lord is with thee" It was the only prayer she could think of.

She tried the key again. The light blinked to green.

She turned the handle.

He was there. At the end of the hall Standing there with a ritle over his shoulder and a gun in his hand. Astrid almost collapsed. Drake grinned.

He raised the handgun and look aim. Astrid pushed Little Pete intc the room and tumbled in after him.

Astrid slammed the door closed and threw the bolt. Then she added the security lock. An impossibly loud noise.

The door had a hole in it the size of a dime, with the metal puckered out.

Another explosion and the door handle was hanging half off.

Little Pete could save them. He could. He had the power. But he was still calm, still oblivious. Useless.

The balcony. It was the only way.

"Petey, come on!" she rasped. "Munchy, munchy," he argued.

Drake slammed against the door, but it held. The dead bolt was still in place.

He fired again and again, frustrated, blasting away at the dead bolt.

He was frantic that she and Pete)' would teleport again.

She had to make him believe it had happened.

She dragged Little Pete to the bslcony, slid open the door, looked down. The ground was too far. Way too far. But there was a balcony directly below them.

Astrid climbed over the railing, scared to death, shaking, but with no alternative.

How could she get Little Pete to follow? He was fixated on food now.

"Game Boy," she hissed, and pushed the toy close to his face. "Come on> Petey, come on, Game Boy"

She guided her brother over, placed his hand on the rail, only one hand because now he was in his game again, lost in his stupid game, too calm to use his power, too unpredictable.

"Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus," Astrid sobbed.

This wasn't going to work. She could make it, but how could she get her brother to do it?

He was smalt. She could swing him. She could hold on for the few seconds it'd take.

"Holy Mary, Mother of God .. ?

She gripped the ratling with her left* grabbed Little Pete's wrist with her right* and yanked him away from the rail. He fell. She caught him, held on by her fingernails, and then he was falling. He slammed onto the porch chair below.

He had landed hard. He was $ unned.

Astrid heard Drake slamming against the door again and heard a splintering sound as the dead bolt gave way Now only the frail chain still held and ie would be through that in
a
heartbeat.

"... pray for us sinners now .. ,*

She swung herself down and landed almost on top of Little Pete. No time for the sharp pain in her leg, no time for the blood and the scraped flesh, only time to grab Little Pete, hug him, hold him close, and withdraw back against the sliding-glass door of the balcony

"Window seat, window seat, baby window seat" she whispered, her mouth pressed to his car.

She heard Drake in the room above.

She heard him slide open the door above and step out onto the balcony.

They were out of sight. Unless he leaned out far enough.

Pray for us sinners now and a) the hour of our death, she finished the prayer silently and held on to her brother.

Amen.

She heard Drake curse in fury

They had done it. He thought they had disappeared.

Thank you, Lord, Astrid prayed silently.

And then. Little Pete began to moan.

His game had fallen when she had dropped him to the balcony. The back was open. One of the batteries had rolled away. And now Little Pete was trying to make it work and it wouldn't,

Astrid almost sobbed out loud.

Drake stopped cursing.

She looked up and there he was, leaning far out over the railing. The shark grin was wide,

The gun was in his hand, but he couldn't quite get an angle on them, so he swung one leg over the railing, crouched just as Astrid had done, and now he could see them quite clearly.

He aimed.

He laughed.

And then he bellowed in pain and fell.

Astrid leaped to the railing. Drake was on the grass below, sprawled on his back, unconscious, lying on his rifle with the pistol beside him. "Astrid"Sam said-He was above her, still holding the table lamp he'd used to smash Drake's hand, leaning out over the railing. "Sam." "You okay?"

"As soon as I get Petey's battery I will be." That sounded stupid, and she almost laughed. "I have a boat down on the bea

127 HOURS. 42 MINUTES

IT HAD BEEN two days since Lana had survived the coyotes. The
talking
coyotes. Two days since her lite had been saved by a snake. A
flying
snake. The world had gone crazy.

Lana had watered the lawn that morning, careful to keep a sharp eye out for coyotes and snakes* She paid close attention to Patrick's every bark, growl, or twitch. He was her early warning system. They'd been owner and pet in the old days, or, maybe you could say, friends. But now they were a team. They were partners in a game of survival: Patrick's senses* her brain.