Gone (51 page)

Mother."

The face of their mother wavered. The tender flesh seemed to break apart in jigsaw-puzzle pieces. The gently smiling, pleading mouth melted, collapsed inward. In its place a mouth ringed with needle-sharp teeth. Eyes filled with green fire.

"I'll have you yet," the mons:er raged with sudden violence.

Caine stared in horror. "What are you?"

"What am I?" the monster mocked him savagely. "I'm your future. You'll come to me on your own in the dark place, Caine. You will come willingly to me"

"No," Caine protested.

The monster laughed, a cruel sound from that piranha's mouth.

Slowly the monster faded. Color bled back into the world around Sam and Caine. Ore and Drake accelerated back to normal speed. The air smelled of gunpowder again. Astrid drew breath.

Sam and Caine stood lacing each other.

The world was the world. Then world. The FAYZ. Diana stared. Astrid gasped and opened her eyes.

Caine was quick. He raised his hands, palms out.

But Sam was quicker. He leaped toward Caine, stepped inside his reach, and grabbed his brother's head with his good hand.

Sam's palm was flat against Caine's temple, his fingers curved into his hair.

"Don't make me do this" Sam warned.

Caine didn't try to back away. His eyes were wild with defiance. "Go ahead, Sam" Caine whispered.

Sam shook his head. "No"

"Pity?" Caine sneered.

"You have to leave, Caine." Sam said softly, "I don't want to kill you. But you can't be here"

Brianna zoomed up, screeched to a halt, and leveled a gun at Caine."lf Sam doesn't get you, I will. You sure aren't faster than the Breeze"

Caine ignored her contemptuously. But he would never get the chance to attack Sam now. Brianna was too fast to defy.

"It's a mistake to let me live, Sam," Caine warned. "You know HI be back."

"Don't. Don't come back. Next time ..."

"Next time one of us will kill the other" Caine said.

"Walk away. Stay away"

"Never," Caine said with some of his old bravado. "Diana?"

"She can stay here" Astrid said-

"Can you, Diana?" Caine asked her.

"Astrid the Genius" Diana said in her mocking way. "So intelligent. So clueless"

Diana stepped close to Sam, cupped his cheek with her hand, and planted a light kiss on the corner of his mouth. "Sorry, Sam. The bad girl ends tp with the bad boy. It's the way the world works. Especially this world "

She went to Caine. She did not take his extended hand, did not even look at him, but walked beside him as he descended the steps.

The battle between Drake and Ore had staggered to an exhausted draw. Drake was raising his whip hand once more to bring it down on Ore's pylon shoulders, but his movements were slow, leaden,

"Knock it off, Drake," Diana said. "Don't you know when the light is over?"

"Never," Drake gasped.

Caine raised his hand and almost casually pulled the struggling, cursing Drake after him.

The coyotes, those still alive, followed them out of town.

Edilio raised his gun and took aim at the retreating beasts, human and not. His eyes locked with Brianna's, the two of them ready.

Sam said, "No, man. War's over"

Edilio lowered the gun reluctantly.

"Put it down, Breeze, Let it go," Sam said.

Brianna obeyed, more relieved than anything.

Quinn climbed the steps to stand with Edilio. He was spattered with blood. He threw his own gun down on the ground. He sent Sam a bleak, infinitely sad look.

Patrick bounded up excitedly, and with him. Lana. "Sam, let me see that arm " she said.

"No " Sam said. "Pm tine. Go to the others. Save them, Lana. I couldn't. Maybe you can. Start wiih Little Pete.. He's ... he's very important."

Astrid had gone back into the church to find her brother She reappeared, holding him under the arms, dragging him. "Help me," Astrid begged, and Lana ran to her.

Sam wanted logo to Astrid. He needed to. But utter weariness rooted him to the spot. He leaned his good hand on Edilio's strong shoulder.

"I guess we won," Sam said.

"Yeah," Edilio agreed. "I'll get the baekhoe. Got a lot of holes to dig."