You have no idea how tired I am :L It's 25 past midnight and I think I'm going to fall asleep on my laptop :L But, I managed to get this out :] This chapter centres around Edilio and just how bad things are getting in Perdido Beach. Chapter Three will probably go back to switching between Raylin and Edilio.

Hope you enjoy!

Em xx

Disclaimer: Michael Grant owns Gone...lucky...


The morning dawned surprisingly warm, with the feel of lots of sun later that day, despite the terrible night. The kids of Perdido Beach were all either passed out or sleeping. Mostly. Taylor was currently standing in Edilio's dark bedroom, trying to wake him up. "Edilio!" she shouted, shaking him gently. "Get up!" Edilio's eyes flickered open and studied her confusedly. Sleepily he used his elbows to help himself sit up.

"Taylor?" he mumbled, dazed. "What time is it?"

"Almost half five. I'm sorry to wake you, but I was on duty and...well, Quinn said it would be easier on Sam if you could handle this one."

Sighing, Edilio rubbed his face with his hands. There wasn't really much he could say to that. Quinn was right. Besides, Edilio was the town sheriff now. "It's okay," he found himself saying. "Right. What have we got?" Taylor sat down on the end of his bed, massaging her forehead with the tips of her fingers and sighing. Then, looking up:

"It's Dahra. Somebody put a brick through her front window. Quinn was walking home from his fishing shift and found her outside her house, trying to clean up. We think it was the Human Crew."

"And what makes you say that?" asked Edilio as he got out of bed and looked around in the dark for his jeans. He already knew that she was probably right, but it was his job to ask.

"Because somebody wrote 'HC' on the brick in permanent marker," Taylor answered. "And...here." She hold out his jeans to him, finger hooked through one of the belt loops. Edilio took them and mumbled a thanks. He pulled them on over his boxers as quickly as he could, wishing the power was still on. At least then he'd be able to find a shirt. It wasn't cold, but he wanted something to cover his shoulder. Something to cover the scar. When he looked up Taylor was holding out a short-sleeved white t-shirt. He took it wordlessly and pulled it on, offering her a small smile as a thank you instead.

"Can you pop back and tell them I'll be there in five? I'll take the truck." Wide awake now, Edilio pulled on his worn trainers and grabbed his keys from the bedside table. The two of them stood. For a second, all he could do was compare the height difference. He'd grown in the last few months. A lot. When the FAYZ started he'd only been a little taller than Taylor. Now he was at least a head and shoulders bigger. She seemed to notice it too, because she smirked as she looked him up and down.

"Growth spurt much?" she said, and he chuckled quietly. "Sure thing, Edilio. I'll see you there." And then Taylor was gone.

He made sure he locked his door when he left, fumbling with the keys for a moment in the darkness. Edilio didn't have to be a genius to work out what was happening. The Human Crew meant business. They already openly displayed a loathing for the 'moofs' – now they were targeting people who associated themselves with the people who had powers. First Dahra. Who next? Quinn? Astrid? It was only a matter of time before Edilio himself became a target, being Sam's second in command. And he didn't want to come home to a burgled or damaged house because of that.

The low growl of the truck's engine felt amplified in the silence of the dawn. It seemed to echo through the streets in an eerie way that Edilio didn't particularly want to think too much about. Just get this over and done with, he thought. Just get this sorted, and then maybe you'll be able to catch an extra half hour's sleep during training. The drive to Dahra's didn't take long. He was glad about that; driving around in the dark wasn't exactly the least creepy thing to do.

When Edilio pulled into the empty driveway of Dahra's house, Taylor, Quinn and Dahra herself were already standing outside waiting for him. Before he got out of the car he looked around. It seemed safe enough. His hand rested on the smooth handle of his revolver, the gun he kept for issues that didn't involve Caine Soren or Drake Merwin. Edilio wasn't a violent guy. Despite being in charge of the 'army' and weapons training, and being a one-man police squad, if there was a way to resolve a problem without resorting to brute force then that was the option that Edilio would prefer to take. He sighed deeply, wishing he was home in bed. Then he opened the truck door and climbed out, leaving the gun on the seat. He was just being paranoid. "Okay guys, what happened?"

Dahra stood nearest the damaged window, arms folded across her chest, still dressed in what Edilio presumed she'd worn to bed: a dark vest top with matching jogging bottoms. He felt pretty confident, though, in assuming that she hadn't worn those heavy leather hiking boots to sleep in. She sighed, something he hadn't seen her do in a long while. Quinn raised a hand and placed it gently on her shoulder. Dahra smiled weakly at him before she answered. "I couldn't sleep," she began quietly. "I kept almost drifting off and then waking up. Anyway, I finally managed to get to sleep around...3? And I actually stayed asleep until this humongous smashing noise woke me up. So I go downstairs with a goddamned baseball bat, and what do I find? Half my living room's covered in glass, it's four thirty in the freaking morning and some dipshit from the HC's thrown a brick through my window!"

She took a deep breath, running a hand through her hair and letting it out. "I'm sorry," Dahra apologised, returning to normal volume. "I'm just tired, and I'm hungry, and I'm scared, okay?" Quinn wrapped his arm around her shoulders this time and she leaned into him, looking just as tired as Edilio felt. Treading carefully across the carpet of glass shards in front of the window, Edilio surveyed the damaged. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if the brick had only made a small break in the glass – okay, so that was a lie. It still would have been bad. But at least then they would have been able to tape it up or something. Instead the window was practically just a window frame.

"Either they threw the brick pretty hard, or whoever used to own this house didn't feel like investing in double glazing," he said. "There's no way we can fix this." He turned back to the others, brow furrowing slightly in thought. "Dahra, there are some empty houses on my street? Jack's just moved in across the road from me, and Dekka, Brianna and Taylor are sharing a house. But if you don't want to be alone, we could sort you someone to room with for a while." Dahra seemed to consider it for a few moments.

"I think I'll room with someone," she said eventually. Edilio nodded understandingly.

"Okay. We can sort that for you."

"Thanks, Edilio."

"Don't worry about it. Right, Quinn, can you stay with Dahra and help her get her things together? The sooner this is all sorted the better."

"Will do, brah."

"Taylor, I need you to go find Computer Jack when it's light. I don't want to disturb too many people too early. I need to speak to him. And not a word to Sam about any of this, okay? That goes for all of you. He's stressing himself sick as it is, so there's no point worrying him about something before we know the whole story." The other three nodded in agreement. "I'm gonna go home, get my head together, and try and figure out a way to fix all this."

They exchanged subdued goodbyes, and as Edilio drove back home in silence, he couldn't help but feel relieved that Dahra hadn't decided to come live on his street. It sounded horrible, even to his own ears, but he had some good reasons. The Human Crew were trying to drive them out. Containing the so-called freaks and freak-lovers alike in one area was just the first step in their plan to take over Perdido Beach. But he wasn't going to let that happen. Couldn't let that happen. The FAYZ was Hell on Earth.

But he'd be damned if he let Sam Temple go it alone.


Reviews are really appreciated :] They make my day! xx