A/N: So this is kinda a short chapter. Sorry, I feel bad. But to make up for it, I put in a very special character in it. My favorite character, in fact! Who? Read and find out!

Thanks to...*Drum Roll*

Jamie, xXxhiddenanglexXx, slightlyweirdmostlyawesomeXD, xoxMissYummaliciousxox, Callie1121, magenta raspberry, Jaskuep, Mr Nobody, TheCheesePigeon, Sheepobsessed, VanessaTemple, HeyParaVersaLeafScence, xXxSecretSmilerxXx, Alex

For reviewing. I'd like to add more people to the list above =)

Disclaimer: I do not own Gone. The characters belong to Michael Grant, and used here for entertainment purposes only. If I did, Edilio would be the main character. Pity he's so under-loved...

Chapter Ten:

Old Friends, Old Worries.

Give me a whisper, and give me a sigh,

Give me a kiss before you, tell me goodbye

Don't you take it so hard now, and please don't take it so bad

I'll still be thinking of you, and the times we had, baby

Astrid:

Astrid woke to a pain in her head. Her vision was fuzzy, as was her brain functioning. She smelled the scent of salt water and trees.

"...Astrid!"

That was Sam's voice. He sounded so close too, it was almost too good to be true. Astrid slowly opened her eyes and as the scene in front of her materialized, she realized just how right she was.

They were in a small grove of trees near the ocean, the salty breeze brushing gently against the ferns that surrounded them. Sam was nearby her, tied around the middle to a tree. A sharp pain in Astrid's side told her that she was in the same situation. The rope dug into her ribs and her elbows - that bastard Drake had tied them tightly enough. Was she scared? Plenty.

"Sam, what's going on?" She asked, although she was pretty sure she had a good idea as to their situation. They were both caught, tied up and their captor was Drake. Death row sounded warm and fuzzy next to their crisis.

"Drake left, I think he's trying to dig into the mine shaft again. The rocks that buried it are still there and it's grown over with plants now so it's going to take him some time to get in-"

Something was off. Sam wasn't looking at her, his gaze fell everywhere else but her eyes. They strayed to the ground below them, to the bushes in the direction of the gold mine, to the trees separating them from the ocean view, but never did he look at her.

"Sam," Astrid interrupted him. He was scared. She knew him well, well enough to know that Sam did everything he possibly could to avoid looking scared or weak in any way. He was avoiding the situation, the situation that unless some divine force intervened or a miracle occurred and lightning struck and set them free, they were both just counting the seconds before their lives ended. And Astrid knew it wasn't just death that was waiting for them when Drake returned, he would not be merciful enough to kill them quickly. He would draw out their suffering, causing as much hurt and damage both mentally and physically, then he would kill them.

Astrid knew what awaited her, she had been so stupid, so foolishly arrogant enough to actually think she could stand a chance of out smarting Drake. Of course he would assume she would try to save Sam, of course he wouldn't let such a naively formulated plan work. Who the hell did she think she was? A genius? People seemed to be under that impression but when it came down to it, solving advanced calculus was about as useless as waving a stick around and calling it a magic wand.

Sam looked at her for the first time. His eyes displayed that which he had tried desperately to hide from her, the fear. Brown orbs met blue. Was it possible that in one moment, one second, one simple look, for two souls who bore such resentment to each other, to forgive...? Before now, if Astrid was asked that question, she would surely have replied in the negative. Her calculative mind would have urged her to believe that unless serious discussions took place and feeling were shared openly, there would be no chance of reconciliation. But in one moment, when Sam's rich brown eyes met hers she knew her side of the forgiving was done. She bore no resentment for the mane in front of her. That knowledge and the accepting of that knowledge took a heavy burden off her chest. For the first time in months, years even, she knew exactly where she stood.

"I'm so sorry, Astrid." He said in a quiet, vulnerable tone, his head bowed town in humility. That caused their eye contact to break, and Astrid mentally mourned the loss of contact. But she knew his sentiment was genuine, that he truly and deeply felt responsible for actions of the past, and there was only one person who could take that burden from him.

"I understand everything that you did, Sam...I know of nothing to forgive you of. The fault is mine...I should have tried harder."

His head lifted from it's bow to look at her again, this contact, although not physical, was as close as Astrid could get to him, she relished every second his brown orbs gazed at her. His expression was strange, it was at first astonishment at her words, then turned into something else entirely. Astrid knew that look very well, it was the look he had before he started to argue a point, and Astrid knew he would argue her taking all the blame. So she looked at him sternly, letting him know that this was a subject she would not surrender her opinion of. This routine, simple yet frustrating at times, was something they had done so many times in the past, it was like a second nature. The familiarity of it was so comforting at this time, Astrid cherished it.

Sam:

"I'm so sorry, Astrid."

There. That was it, the words that had been going around in his mind like whirlwinds for the past seven months were said. It's not like he had any hopes of forgiveness, but it had to be said nonetheless. Not surprisingly, her next words came as a shock to Sam.

"I understand everything that you did, Sam...I know of nothing to forgive you of, the fault is mine...I should have tried harder."

Did she really believe that? Or was she just spinning words to make him feel better? No, it wasn't like Astrid to make up false opinions, not when she was such an avid supporter of her own beliefs. Either way, it wasn't her fault, none of it was, and Sam was about to argue the point. But he realized he did not wish to spend this time arguing with her, he didn't care if he admitted wrong in every disagreement they ever had, he just wanted to enjoy this time with her. Drake would return eventually, and this moment was worth more than anything Sam ever had in his possession.

Her words brought him comfort, though. It was a relief to know she did hold hold him a grudge for past actions. But he still felt the guilt weight down on his like ten Orcs. He had gotten caught first in this mess, he had fallen neatly packaged and wrapped into Drake's hands and Astrid would pay the consequences. He would too, but at this moment, Sam couldn't bring himself to think about the fate which awaited them with Drakes return.

This was a situation which Sam had no control over. His hands were bound facing his own chest, so using his power would be pointless. He. Couldn't. Do. Anything.

He was useless beyond comprehension.

But there was one thing he could do, if Astrid genuinely felt guilt over their past, then he could ease her guilt. It was the only solace he could provide her.

"The fault is not yours. I never saw you as guilty, Astrid, and I never will,"

That seemed to undo something inside her, her well maintained composure slipped from her grasp and a single tear fell down her smooth, ivory cheek.

They were both doomed.

Yet, together, they felt more complete than they had in months.

Meanwhile, in San Diego:

The sun beat down mercilessly in the mid-afternoon in San Diego. The heat was record breaking for the natives of a small out-of-the-way neighborhood of co-op housing, but it wasn't really impressive to the natives of Honduras who currently resided here. Edilio Escobar was used to the heat. He felt comfortable in hot weather.

But then again, it would take extreme measures to make Edilio, ex-FAYZ resident, uncomfortable. He had never been much of a complainer to begin with, having gone through a tough immigration experience at a young age, and the FAYZ had done anything but lessen his calm, accepting attitude. Sure it wasn't always easy, living with the memories he did, but with each passing day, Edilio felt more at peace with himself. He looked on to the small vegetable garden in hi backyard, the sun casting strange looking shadows upon the ground through the leaves on the various plants. He lived here with his family, having spend all his post-FAYZ funds on getting his family into the United States legally. It was money well spent, for seven years now, his older siblings and parents had been living peacefully, if not a bit shabbily, here where they had tried so hard to come for years.

Riiiiiing!

Edilio pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, not bothering to check the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Edilio, nice. You still have the accent, how long have you lived in the US now?"

Edilio knew that voice all too well. It was an unwelcome intrusion, that voice would never be welcome to his ears.

"Caine."

"Ah, you remember. I'm touched,"

"What do you want?" He said into the phone, skipping pleasantries. He never liked Caine, ever. The man brought a foul taste to Edilio's mouth and nothing good ever came of hearing his name or his voice.

"Straight to business, I always liked that about you. No dilly-dally. I actually called you because I could use your... assistance in dealing with a certain problem."

Edilio expected something like that. Caine wouldn't call him up unless he needed something, although why he would ask for him, the person with no powers, Edilio was wondering. But still, the vague explanations were getting on his nerves.

"Just tell me what you want or I'm hanging up."

"Edilio, let's be honest. You're not inclined to help me," True, and Edilio was getting less inclined with every moment he spoke to the telekinetic, "I understand. You and I were always enemies. But now is an interesting moment in time, when fate has given us a unique opportunity. We share a common enemy, you see. And doesn't that make us allies, in a way?"

"Drake." Edilio said simply. Although he could less than agree with being allies with Caine.

"Bingo. Edilio, let me ask you, where do your loyalties lie?"

His what? Where was this going? Edilio never really had much patience for games of speech the charismatic telekinetic liked to play, and he was quickly losing whatever patience he did have. The question, however, was an easy answer.

"Sam. My loyalties lie with Sam."

"Good, that's exactly the answer I was hoping for. You see, Sam, my dear but foolish brother, has gotten himself into a slight pickle, and I've decided to lend him a brotherly hand."

"How uncharacteristic," Edilio couldn't help but let that comment slip. He wasn't falling for the loving brother act, there was more to this and he remained suspicious.

There was a soft chuckle on the other line before Caine replied, "Always very trusting of me, aren't you? Fine, you caught me. Let's just say I have an uneven score to settle with our mutual enemy, snake-arm. Who just happens to be in possession of my dear brother, and by now, probably the genius as well."

"Sam and Astrid? Drake has both of them?" Edilio asked, now fully listening to the other man talk. Sam, what have you gotten yourself into, he wondered.

There was another soft chuckle, but Edilio was to worried to let it get to him this time, "Now I have you attention. Look, I don't know where you are, but if you want to help your amigo, you'd better tell me, so I can arrange your transport. It's time to get the snakey son of a bitch, are you in, Edilio?"

"I'm in."

Sam:

He watched as she tried desperately to loosen the bindings around her. Her attempts were futile, the rope held fast. His mind was working at lightning speed, going through every skill in his arsenal, speeding through every experience in his memory for something, something, that would help them in this situation. Nothing helped. Nothing.

They were trapped, captured and completely out of luck.

"Astrid...It's no use."

"Shut up." She snapped. But he wasn't offended, because he knew what prompted her remark. She knew it as well as he did, the bindings wouldn't loosen.

"Astrid..." He began, not sure what exactly he was going to say when he started to speak but he knew he wanted to speak. He needed to, but she wouldn't stop struggling under the ropes, her movements becoming more violent and desperate a the frustration anger built inside her. He could see it in her eyes.

"Astrid, stop. You'll only use up your energy."

A choked sob escaped her lips as she continued the losing battle with the rope. "I c-can't...I can't give up. I can't just accept t-this...I. Bloody. Won't. Give. In!" She spoke half sobbing, accompanying each word with a useless yank of her body against the bindings.

"Astrid..." He started again. This time she looked up at the sound of his voice, halting her attempts to free herself, looking lethargic and beaten. When she stopped moving, Sam could see her face stained with tears, strands of her fine blonde hair were sticking to the wetness on her cheeks.

"I don't regret it...I-I d-don't think I ever thought I'd actually s-succeed in s-saving us...I t-think I knew I'd get caught but I came anyway...I don't r-regret it..."

What was she saying? That she knew the fate that would await her if she came but she came anyways...Why? Unless she still...

"I just wanted t-to say it...to t-tell you..."

Tell him what?

"I love you, Sam."

With that she broke down completely, sobbing. Sam wanted so badly to rid himself of these wretched ropes just to comfort her. He wanted to hold her so close and never let her go, ever. She loved him. She said it, and with those words Sam felt elation beyond anything he could describe.

"I love you too, Astrid."

A/N: Edilio's back! Caine's putting the band back together, Drake's got a nasty plan, and our Hero and Heroine have given up hope. Will Caine make it in time? Will Astrid suffer the extreme torture? Stay tuned for the next heartbreaking chapter of "Finding Solace" !