Disclaimer: I do not own the Gone series by Michael Grant.
Author's Note: Alrighty! Part II! I'm reading Plague right now and it's pretty awesome. I'm only a 150 pages or so in.
Slight Spoiler! Slight Spoiler! Slight Spoiler!
Some of the characters are really ticking me off. I'm not too fond of the Ellison family right now. I adore some of them so much. I squealed so loud when Ellen's name reappeared. I really hope she becomes a more important character. You guys know how much I love she and Edilio. But they keep saying Ellen's on the council and yet I haven't seen her. So I'm thinkin', where the heck is Ellen?
Alright...Ellen Watch is on! She has appeared for the first time...and Edilio just sent her away. Dogarnit!
Oh, and if you didn't figure this out, Choosing His Pieces is post-Lies. Pretend Plague hasn't happened yet.
Come to me. I have need of you, Whiphand.
This message caused the dirty girl huddled on a cold ground to glance up. Though the monster was currently in its 'Brittney' stage, she knew who was calling.
"Get away!" she screamed at the air. "Leave my head and leave this town! Go back to hell, you fiend!"
Foolish girl. You think you can control my powers? I brought you back to life. Give my slave back his body to destroy my enemies with.
"No!" Brittney screamed, her mind flooding the intruder with images of her baby brother Tanner; firing practice with Edilio; Sam smiling at her, congratulating her for a job well done; God speaking through Tanner, telling her to destroy the monster. This was what she usually did when the monster in her head was fighting to be free. Usually the Gaiaphage never interfered. It was usually the demon who attacked her. And Brittney could hold off the demon. But for the first time in forever the Darkness fought back. Images of the coyotes bounced painfully in her head. Caine smirking and Drake snapping his whip over her head. She froze, hate boiling in her mind.
You can finally complete your goal, girl. Caine's smirking face filled her head again. You can finally defeat him and please your little brother. Was he not the one who sent the coyotes? Was he not the one who told Drake to kill you? Tanner now appeared in her mind. He was pleading with her with big, sorrowful eyes. Allow Whiphand to come to me! Brittney hesitated then looked at her deceased brother's too wide eyes. They were the same shade as hers—not the light blue they should have been. The Darkness had been unable to pull an accurate picture. This fueled the girl and reminded her of her new mission.
"No!" she screamed again. Her purpose now was to keep others safe from the monster that lived in her body. Not redeem her brother's death. She was surprised that she could hold off such a monster by herself. The girl was comforted by the fact that other holy forces must've been by her side constantly.
The voice in her head was colder than it had ever been. Before it was indifferent and slightly commanding. Now it was on the borderline of painful. The white light that had given her the strength to hold off the Gaiaphage suddenly started to wane. Brittney could now feel the Darkness tearing down her willpower and the horrible monster Drake coming through.
"No!" she screamed for the third time, trying to hold in the demon. Her vision flashed and her right hand grew longer and more whip-like. And then the power Little Pete had given her to hold back the demon, the strength she thought her angelic brother gave her, vanished completely. With one last horrible scream, whip replaced hand and Brittney's dirt flecked braces disappeared for the final time. In her place was a dark eyed, grinning sadist who flicked his whip back continuously, clearing enjoying the missed feeling.
Come to me.
Drake grinned again. He was happy to oblige.
Howard quickly glanced down at his watch. Though the real time was clearly out of whack within the FAYZ with the power being disabled, Computer was able to rig up new time system which they ingeniously called FAYZtime. Surprisingly it was not Howard who came up with the name. A few special members of the town were expected to have the FAYZtime not only for scheduling meetings with the council but to also show status. With a shortage in digital times and batteries, all other extra watch batteries were confiscated to be put in the battery treasury. The entire council, Lana, Ellen, John Terrafino, and a few special others were expected to always have their watch with them. Howard scratched absentmindedly at his personal time teller. He had had this watch ever since the beginning of the FAYZ. Stole it off of some poor kid who crossed Captain Orc before Sammy and his brother retook Perdido Beach. He hadn't wanted the watch then and he didn't want it now. The only reason he took it a year ago was to prove he wasn't to be messed with and deserved to be followed. Now, because of what Sam and the others had worked out, he wished for the exact opposite. To be left alone for once without worrying about keeping up a perfect 'image.' Sometimes being compared to the other members of the council made Howard felt so…crooked. He didn't mind really, but it made him look bad compared to Holy Genius Astrid, Super Sammy, or Edilio.
But both good and bad had come from the new rule at Perdido Beach, the boy noted. Howard wasn't sure if Orc and he could have really lasted being the only two leaders of the FAYZ. For once, Howard was grateful for Astrid the Genius to have come up with a plan. Not only was he still in power, but the weight of the town wasn't all on him. Howard stared sourly at the watch. Not as much good had come from the monster on his wrist. With few watches left, the boy had to usually conceal the watch in a pocket. He had lost count the number of times a person would come up to ask for the time. It wasn't as if the kids wanted to know what time it was. There was no place for time in the FAYZ. Only the leaders had to worry about FAYZtime. To the citizens of Perdido Beach, seeing a watch meant that a leader was near them. Howard didn't exactly feel like a leader compared to Sam or Edilio. Being slightly crooked made Howard feel like the bad guy despite his sudden change of heart. He wasn't the bad guy when monsters like Drake and Caine were out there. It almost hurt him to be in the same league with psychopaths like Whiphand.
Howard checked the time again and suppressed a good natured groan. Speak of the devil himself. He had to check on the freak Britnadrake. He had come up with that name. Howard paused and instantly revised his sentence. There was a new meaning to freaks and Britnadrake wasn't one of them. Sam was a freak. Lana was a freak. Caine was a freak. Some could even go as far to say Orc was a freak. Britnadrake was just…scary. Howard smirked. That was definitely the way he would describe the creature in his basement. But still, there was nothing else exciting going on and as long as Howard kept doing this favor for Sammy, he was in the plus side of life. Sammy himself was off fighting his brother again. Howard didn't know what was up between the two. Maybe it was something that had happened when they were younger…a broken toy or more attention from parents. All he knew and cared about was he was back on the council and he was respected. Even Astrid the Genius could stand to be in the same room as him and usually keep a civil tongue. Howard suppressed a laugh. Life was good albeit a bit challenging. It's just a FAYZ, he echoed in his head.
The halfway clean council member stopped in front of his new house with a shudder. He suddenly remembered what he was doing. Doing favors for others? Was he possibly growing a soft bone? In the FAYZ? He shook his head and smirked to himself. That would be like suicide in the world of the FAYZ. "Orc? Hey, Orcman! Are you there?" Howard laughed and slipped inside the house. He glanced around quickly and noticed he was alone. After being in the house for less than a week, beer cans already littered the floor. The best friend of Orc sighed softly. What is my right-hand man turning into? Howard nodded blankly towards the bright SammySun and headed straight towards the basement. He pressed his ear against the door and smirked. The girl was there but barely. It sounded like she was going to switch over to Drake anytime. Howard quickly shoved the key into the door and pulled open the door. It didn't occur to him that the armoire that Orc usually kept slammed against the door was missing until Howard was at the bottom of the steps. The smirk on Howard's face slowly slipped off.
"Hey Howard," a cool voice said. Howard took an involuntary step back. Drake's trapped…he can't get out, the boy reminded himself frantically. Still it wouldn't hurt to be cautious. "Here to free me?" the cool voice purred. Howard shuddered and was almost up the steps before something caught his foot. He wasn't sure if he had tripped or if Drake had used his whip. Regardless, the stumble caused the boy to come crashing back down the steps. "That rock creature usually does this," Drake continued in an insanely soft voice.
Hardly anything scared Howard. Mary did that one time but that was because she was just so tall… And Sam sometimes scared Howard but only when he went all laser-hands. Apart from a few things, Howard had never really known true fear. He had always had his Orcman with him to keep him from extreme danger. That was just the way things were—Orc was the muscle and he was the brain. But now Howard was alone against a psychotic and furious Drake. And Howard was finally realizing that he was terrified. He now knew why only Orc could do this job. The Orcman was practically indestructible whereas Howard was not. Orc was a rock while Howard was very fleshy and soft. He struggled to his feet and tried to smirk.
"You can't get out, Drake," Howard taunted, warily watching his ankles.
"You bet?" Drake's voice rose to a loud growl and his whip shot through the cracks of the cage. Howard was shocked that the sadist could do that. He was fairly sure the whip wasn't that thin. That was all the boy got to think before the snake-like whip snapped around the smaller boy's waist. Howard felt himself being lifted into the air before being slammed into the wooden barrier. The council member was fairly sure that he had shattered a few ribs on the impact. He was barely awake to feel himself hit the barrier two more times before it suddenly exploded. Wood shattered everywhere and Howard felt himself being thrown aside like a rag doll. He groaned weakly and tried to inch away from Drake. The sadistic demon caught the boy and dragged him by the ankle back to his feet.
"What do I win?" Drake muttered darkly, eyes lighting up with a malicious light. "I got out, didn't I? What's my prize?" His whip slipped off of Howard's foot and snapped by Drake's ear.
"A nice welcoming gift from Sammy!" growled Howard, blinking away tears. He could barely keep himself awake now.
Drake laughed. His whip whistled as it came down and hit Howard with a loud crack. The boy screamed and jerked suddenly. Drake bent down to talk to the injured boy. "I don't think your hero Sammy is going to be coming back to Perdido Beach." He kicked Howard in the bruised ribs. "I'll just leave you here for whoever finds you." The boy sounded almost disappointed. "I really wanted to kill you though." He mimicked Howard's trademark smirk pretty accurately before disappearing.
The last kick Drake had given him had sent Howard into unconsciousness. Before the boy completely lost his senses, he had done something he had never done before.
Howard prayed.
Ray shuffled down the street, wondering where he could possible find a surfer dude, a solemn and cruel boy, and a Mexican. Pilot Springs was somewhere north of Pennsylvania which took out a big chunk of the Hispanic population and over 300 miles away from the nearest ocean which also took out the surfer dude. The EAC figured the person he had the best chance of finding was the solemn and cruel boy Nerezza had mentioned. Raynold glanced to his right and shook his head. Only scared children were on this street. Through Brian was trying his hardest to keep the town in order, the disappearance of the adults were just too much for some kids to handle. Ray kept looking, hoping he'd be able to find someone to fit Nerezza's descriptions. His birthday was coming fast—still only four days away. If he couldn't find any of the three soon, he wouldn't get the chance to even test out his powers anymore. Loud screams tore Ray from his thoughts. Before this new bubble thing happened, Ray would have just either tried another path or found the closet adult and tell them something was wrong. Now he couldn't do the latter because there were no adults. Raynold sighed. He couldn't do the former either. Because of being Emergency Action Chief, it was his duty to keep the peace. Whoever came up with the stupid thing in the first place? He muttered in his head. Grumbling unmentionable things about Nerezza, Brian and the whole circumstance that led him to be EAC, Ray went to go check out what was happening. The panicking kids fleeing from the site didn't make him feel anymore confident. He stopped dead on his feet when he saw the reason for the fuss.
In front of Ray was a boy about his age with very dirty sandy blonde hair who seemed to be having a one-sided conversation with a frozen six-year-old. The older boy's eyes were dead and blank but somewhere a touch of something sparked. Ray couldn't exactly place what was in the boy's eyes but if he had to guess, it would be insane hate. He had never seen this older boy before and he definitely looked like bad news. Ray shuddered and tried to see what was causing the rest of the commotion. Wrapped around the waist of the poor younger child was something almost snakelike. The only other way Ray could describe it was a whip. The whip wrapped twice around the trapped kid's torso and seemed to merge with the boy's right arm. The fact that Ray was unable to specifically describe this new boy more than once was making him uneasy. And the fact that the whip tip was twitching only added to the boy's twisting feeling. All in all, he felt like he was soon going to lose his pitiful lunch. Ray could briefly hear the monster growl 'Where are they?' to the terrified kid. This was too much for Raynold. Something had to be done about this new guy. Ray just really wished it didn't have to be him that had to put an end to it.
"Put the child down!" Ray demanded in a much deeper voice than he thought he possessed.
The boy turned around lazily and the whip slid off of the kid. The young child slipped to the ground, threw Ray a tear-filled look and scampered off. "You made me lose my victim," remarked the whip monster, turning towards Ray. "But I guess you'll have to do." The reddish purple whip snapped dangerously close to Raynold's ear. He tried to hold back a flinch. Ray quickly concluded that this was the cruel boy Nerezza wanted. He had seen no other human being like him. Not even in movies. Cruel was an understatement.
"By the order of the Emergency Action Chief, you are under arrest!" Ray said again, trying to sound powerful.
The monster grinned a shark-like grin. "And who is this EAC then?"
Ray blinked. He was pretty sure he and the citizens of Pilot Spring were the only people to know about an EAC. Maybe he just used an abbreviation. "Well… I am the EAC," Raynold said, feeling kind of pathetic. He felt his ears burn slightly.
Dry laughter exploded from the boy. "Ha, so you're this town's Temple, basically?"
"Temple?" Ray repeated. "I'm not a priest if that's what you mean… I'm Methodist actually…"
The boy rolled his eyes. "That wasn't what I meant, moron. Sam Temple was this surfer kid who thought he could take over Perdido Beach and now it seems he's comin' over here too." Ray suppressed a gasp. He had gotten two valuable pieces of information from that one sentence. Not only were there people in Perdido Beach still and this monster had come from there—this made Ray a little more nervous as he thought about radiation that was now seeping into his town—but it was also possible that the surfer dude existed. All he needed was the Mexican and hello, his butt.
"Is this Sam Temple coming here?"
"You worried about your job?" smirked the whip creature. "Temple won't last long." The boy's whip snapped. "I'll make sure of that. By the way, the name is Drake," the shark grin was back. "Or you can call me Whiphand," he added gleefully, flicking his whip back and forth.
Ray licked his lips and nodded. "Well, Drake, by order of the EAC you are still under arrest for disturbing of the peace and being needed by someone else…" Ray finished weakly. He didn't think he needed to work on his arrest speeches due to his birthday coming up, but now it was painfully obvious he did. It wasn't as easy as it had seemed in the movies.
Drake laughed again. "You think you can take me down? Laser hands couldn't. Soren couldn't. And don't get me started on the wetback." The whip shot out towards Raynold.
Raynold closed his eyes, expecting to feel a lash of pain across his face. He wasn't expecting to hear furious grunting from Drake. The boy slowly opened his eyes and giggled weakly. Drake was trapped under feet of rope and chains. Ray felt something cool slip into his hands. He glanced down to see the latest machine gun, all full of bullets. He blinked at it for a few moments before desperately grabbing the situation. It was his turn to smirk now.
"Drake, you are under arrest." Ray said with a cool expression. Inside he was screaming his heart out, giddy with the feeling that he had some power in this awful hellhole.
The trapped boy's eyes went wide as he stared at Ray. "You're a freak!" he half snarled, half whispered. His gaze lowered to the gun Raynold was holding. "Nice gun though…haven't seen that one yet…" He looked back at Ray. "Mind if I try it out sometime?" the boy's blank eyes suddenly flashed menacingly. He tried to smile in a friendly way, but the Gaiaphage's pawn only looked scarier.
Ray frowned. That wasn't too nice…I don't think I'm that weird. He grabbed Drake's shoulder and hauled him back to Nerezza. And that gun bit was creepy. Note to self: Don't let 'Whiphand' near any artillery.
I felt so sorry for Howard. Poor thing :( Anyway, thanks to all of you guys out there reading this. And don't forget to check out the poll for some story options :)
Kate of Carlay - Thanks for the review! I'll admit, Brian is kind of unrealistic. You'll see why later. I think it'll be a nice surprise. :)