Disclaimer: I do not own Gone's characters or any of its content. Michael Grant does!

Chapter 1:Accusation

Edilio's POV

The sun was shining brightly through the barrier known as the FAYZ, but the welcoming image could possibly be an illusion. I cradled my gun at my side as I walked through the town. Kids swarmed the streets, trying to make their way to the plaza where Sam was holding a meeting about current events. The FAYZ was becoming stranger by the day, making confusion spread around every corner.

Nearly five weeks ago, chaos had descended upon Perdido Beach. Drake was walking among us as Brittney who was fighting him the entire time, the girl Nerezza nearly caused a catastrophe, Mary poofed, Lana left, and Little Pete went into something like a coma. Little Pete was the creator of the FAYZ and was probably the only one who could free us of this burden. Only a few of us knew about Little Pete's powers and we planned to keep it that way. Now that Drake was contained, everything seemed fine.

"Hey, Edilio." Brianna greeted. "I suppose all these kids are going to the meeting." She gestured toward a group of walking kids.

"Hey, Breeze. Word of Sam's speech sure did spread quickly. People are curious and confused, they'll want reassurance from Sam." I replied, still walking. "How have you been? Have you been getting enough to eat?" The common question made Brianna sigh.

"Yes, I'm getting enough to eat. How come you don't ask different stuff? Like, 'How are you and Jack doing?' or something like that?" Breeze and Jack had started dating, everyone knew it. Still, it felt wrong invading her private life. Before I could answer, Breeze said, "We're here."

All kinds of kids were gathered around Sam, already asking questions which Sam was obviously ignoring for the time being. I didn't come here to hear Sam's speech for I knew what was going on anyway. Every time Sam has a meeting, there is usually tension and hostility rising from both the crowd and the council. With a gun in my hands, kids usually obeyed.

I walked toward the front to get near Sam as if I were his bodyguard. It was hard to tall what some kids would do these days. Even though the Human Crew was gone, there was still threats coming from the normal kids and the mutants. Sam raised a hand to get the noise from the crowd to die down and they obeyed at once, not wanting to get fried by killer beams.

"You all know what happened a few weeks ago when Drake returned and Mary stepped out. I would have gave this speech sooner, but I've been busy. The threat is gone, for now at least, so we need kids to get back on their regular duties." Sam was cut off.

"Regular duties? You mean hard labor!" One of the kids shouted from the middle of the group. "Don't you have enough of your people to handle all of that?"

"No, I don't have enough people to handle all of that. We all need to work together to survive and not let there be a line between the normals and the mutants. The Human Crew tried that and you heard the result." Sam replied as calmly as he could. Immediately, questions hammered Sam like Orc throwing a truck at him.

"What exactly happened to Nerezza? Did you kill her?"

"Can you make the lights come on?"

"Do we have to work?"

"Quiet!" Sam spoke forcefully. The kids immediately went silent. "All I am saying is, we need more kids to work and not mope around all day. Now that the threat is over, for a while at least, kids need to work more or we won't survive." He looked around the plaza and spotted a small kid, at least four years old, with her hand rose in the air. Sam nodded at her.

"I want Mother Mary. When is she coming back?" Luckily, John picked her up and shushed her.

"I don't know when or if Mary is coming back. We just have to pull through this because nothing can last forever." Sam stated. "Until then, I want the older kids to think about being recruited into a job. I don't care which one, just pick one and go with it. When you make a decision, go to whoever you want to work for. That's all."

"Is that what all of this was about? Going and get a job? I figured you would talk about the battle!" One kid said stepping in front of the crowd. "What kind of leader are you? You can't even keep the lights on, defeat Caine, or kill Drake!"

Quinn walked up to the kid and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Look, Sam is ten times better than Caine. It could be worse. We would all be dead by now if it hadn't been for Sam."

"Look who's talking! You're just a fisherman! You betrayed Sam to Caine when this first happened!" The kid snapped back.

"And I know from experience how Caine is! And trust me he is a lot worse than you can imagine. Dude, I'm only saying you should listen to Sam and do whatever it takes to survive. If you yelled at Caine, he would kill you on the spot." Quinn let go of the kid's shoulder. "It could be worse. I realized the mistake I made when I joined Caine and now I'm glad Sam let me back on his side."

"He only let you because you're his friend." The kid remarked.

I rose to my feet, "Look, Quinn proved himself at the Thanksgiving Battle. While you cowered, people put their lives on the line to protect the town. If anything, you need to prove yourself to everybody around you instead of defying everything you hear."

Kids were nodding at mine and Quinn's words, the realization of survival sinking in. I nodded at Quinn who nodded back respectfully. Sam dismissed the meeting and everybody scrambled away all except for the kid who had started the argument. Then I noticed Astrid was here.

"You're just going to get us all killed, Sam. You know it, Astrid the Genius knows it, as well as your Mexican sidekick right there." The kid pointed at me but I let the remark pass.

"You mean Honduran." I muttered under my breath.

"Dude, why do keep going on like this? It's not making things any better." Quinn asked.

The kid looked at Quinn then lashed out with a fist. Quinn reeled backward when the fist came in contact with his chin. I moved in between them.

"Leave now." I said in the most dangerous tone I could muster. The kid didn't want to hit a guy with a gun, so he turned around and stalked away.

"What's up with that kid?" Quinn asked when he regained his footing. Then looking at me, "Thanks, I owe you."

Sam, Astrid, and I looked at him, surprised.

"What?" Quinn asked.

"I think that is the first time you ever thanked Edilio." Astrid replied.

"And owed him." Sam added.

"I have thanked Edilio before!" Quinn said. Then, "Haven't I?"

"No." Sam, Astrid, and I all said in unison.

Amazingly, we laughed. Something we haven't done in a long time. Then, I left to get back to work. Training was at dawn and it was already close to it. The whole time I walked, I wondered about the past things that happened in the FAYZ. If I would have stepped out, where would we be at now? Coming to no conclusion, I let my mind wander somewhere else.

The whole time, I didn't see the pair of eyes watching me as I walked. The kid turned and headed back to Coates ready to deliver information about Perdido Beach's most important people. The master would be happy when his messenger returned to him. For now they can start the next stage in planning.

I practiced shooting until the first rays of dawn shone on the town and I knew to get back home before dark. Home. Where I lived wasn't really my home, but I've come to think of it that way. The only thing I can call mine was my clothes and even they were uncomfortable from their current washing in salt water.

The streetlights never came on like they usually do, like everyone expected them to. Now days, the worst happened, so kids were pretty used to a good future turning them over to the darkness of night. Evil was all around us, stirring, waking for the first time in who knows how long. It could be worse, though.

Everybody could be dead or overrun by the Darkness, the creature that lived in an abandoned mine. The one we thought Caine had killed. Needless to say, the Darkness doesn't give up that easily. It sent Nerezza to Perdido Beach to try to finish us off by putting humans under the it's command.

Things were harsh but they could be a lot worse, so I'm trying my best not to complain. Even though you can only take so much of fish and a can of slimy stuff. I don't know when the FAYZ will end or if it ever will, but I'm not going to go down without a fight. I don't really see how anyone could if they had a chance to survive and fight another day.

Walking back to the house, I heard a moaning sound coming from one of the houses to the right of me. Pulling my gun into my hands, I stumbled forward. The moaning grew more intense with every step. There was a window and I peered through it.

A little boy at least five years old was sitting in the middle of the floor, rocking back and forth while moaning the whole time. I went to the door and knocked. When there was no answer I shoved my way in by using the end of my gun. The little kid was not in the middle of the floor now, so I figured he was hiding.

"Hello?" There was no answer so I tried again. "I already saw you so you might as well come out. I'm not going to hurt you." I heard a sniffling noise in a cabinet door in the kitchen. My hand touched the handle and I opened it gently. The little kid barreled out of there like a rocket and I had to jump to catch him.

"Let me go!" The boy yelled murderously. "Let me go! Will! Help! Will!"

I turned him to me, "Hey, it's all right. Calm down, kid. I told you before I'm not going to hurt you. Just tell me what you're doing here."

The boy calmed down a bit, "He said he would be back. He said he would come and get me."

"Who?"

"Aidan." The boy sat down. "He hasn't come back. He said he would be back."

I started to back track, "Okay, it's going to be all right. Who is Will?" Unfortunately, I didn't get an answer. The little boy was just shaking his head continuously as if he was disagreeing with everything I said. "What is your name, kid?"

"Daniel." The little boy replied.

"Okay, Daniel. Come with me and I'll take you somewhere safe. How old are you?" I asked as I stood up and now I was looking down at a very small boy.

"I'll be five in a few days." Daniel stuttered.

"How old was Aidan?"

"He was almost fifteen when he left. He said he had to take care of something and for me not to go outside." The boy rose to his feet. "He said it was bad outside and he'll be back soon."

"Come on. Follow me and I'll take you somewhere safe and get you something to eat." I said. Daniel's eyes lighted up at that. From the looks of him, he hadn't ate in nearly a week. The boy followed me out the door as I was lost in thoughts. I didn't know what I was going to do with this kid. The way the daycare was going right now, food was very scarce and was barely enough to feed the littles.

So the daycare was ruled out. The only thing that would work now would be to put Daniel in an older kid's house. It couldn't be me, for I would be gone all the time and there was nobody else in the house to watch the kid. Sighing, I came to my conclusion. Sam would have to deal with this even though he would most likely be in a bad mood after the meeting today.

"Where are we going? Are we there yet?" Daniel asked every two minutes as he walked beside me. Every time I would say 'no' or 'not yet'. The kid was a bundle of energy that would not end.

Night came over the FAYZ quickly. Daniel finally grabbed my hand after saying he was afraid of the dark, I couldn't blame him, I'm sure I was afraid when I was little. So I led him through town and to Astrid's house. I knocked a few times and waited.

Astrid answered the door. She was in a gown and her hair went past her shoulders, her eyes examining everything that was before them. "Edilio? What are you doing here at this time of night?" She looked down at the figure standing behind my legs. "Who is that with you?"

"Well, all I can say is 'Houston, we have a problem'. Not one that can't be resolved though, but it'll take some time to go over and decide. Can we come in?" I looked at her then back at Daniel who was still hiding.

"Sure, but you have to be quiet. Little Pete is asleep." She stepped aside and let us pass. I murmured 'thanks' and went to the kitchen. Astrid disappeared upstairs and I waited patiently for her return. When she came back, Sam was hard on her heels.

He looked at me then what was behind my legs. "Well, Edilio. What is it? Who's that?"

I tried to step aside to let Daniel in his view but the kid went right with me. "I was walking through town and I found this boy, Daniel. He said he was waiting for a boy called Aidan to come back, but he didn't return. From what Daniel told me, Aidan was getting ready to turn fifteen when he left. So he was left alone."

Sam and Astrid looked at me, confused. "Why didn't you take him to the daycare?" They both asked in unison.

"The littles barely have enough food as it is. Another stomach to feed would have been really harsh on them. I was just thinking we should move him into a household where an older kid could watch him." I replied, wondering if my idea was a good one.

"Okay, so you're wanting to-" Sam was cut of by Taylor bouncing in.

"There is a bad fight at McDonalds, Albert told me to get you." She looked at all of us and just shrugged, not asking questions.

"All right. Taylor, bounce over, tell Albert I'm coming." Sam nodded at her, signaling for her to go. She gave a salute and 'bounced' out of the room. "Edilio, come with me. Astrid, watch Daniel."

I nodded and went after Sam who was already out the door. We scrambled into a truck parked outside and drove off to McDonalds. "What do you think it is over this time?" Sam asked.

"I don't know, but either way it can't be good." I concentrated on the road ready for something to run out in front of me. I could see McDonalds in the distance now. A lot of people were crowded around, watching and joining something that was happening in the center of all the turmoil. I stopped the truck a few feet away and jumped out, bringing my gun around to hold in my hands.

Taylor stood in front of us. "It's a fight. Not too bad though. You remember that guy that was at the meeting today, the one who was arguing with everybody there?" Taylor looked at Sam who was nodding his head for her to continue.

"Well, it's him and some other dude. Quinn tried to step in but got hit with a baseball bat, that was what happened before I bounced over here." Taylor winked at Sam. "Don't worry Sam, I'm sure Quinn can handle it."

"Yeah, right. Quinn can't even handle boredom." Sam replied then looked at me. "Come on, we got to check this out."