TEN|

There was someone new in the FAYZ. Someone very powerful. Two someones. Elin Sage could tell. It was her "gift" of sorts. Her curse. She was a type of sensor, a very powerful one at that. Unlike Diana, she didn't need any physical contact. Elin needed distance.

As she understood, It was something that happened in her head. A neuron synapse. Something gave her that power. The way Elin was, she needed a reason, something legitimate and even scientific. So, just for the sake of argument, she called it a synapse. "Logic," she mumbled. "Something we lack here in the FAYZ."

From her perch at her window, she could see two boys eating another. They had reverted to cannibalism. The boy's, the one being eaten, blood was pouring out into the street. Elin realized that the poor thing was not dead yet. He would be soon though. The months behind the wall had driven them insane.

"There's another thing that we lack here," she whispered. "Sanity."

Elin herself never claimed to be sane. Not before or during the FAYZ. She would not after, either, if there was an after for them. Yet she was not particularly insane either. She was… Elin. Just as Sam was Sam, and Edillio was Edillio. Everyone was their own mix of Sanity and insanity. Each individual was their own unique blend of the two.

Yet most people did not go to cannibalism. The majority of people, including Elin, thought that it was wrong.

That did not mean that they weren't hungry. They took what they got. And that made people make unethical choices, like eating other human beings. "Hunger is inevitable, isn't it Kitty?" she said quietly to her cat, who was on her lap. Elin did not want to eat the cat. Yet she knew that if it came to it, if she was hungry enough, there was nothing but her own twisted concience to stop her.

What it came down to was survival. Elin wanted to survive the ordeal of the FAYZ.

"What happened to me?'

Sam was pacing. Again. He was worried about what would happen back in New York. Morgan had said she left them in capable hands, but he didn't know about it. They didn't know how far it stretched or anything of the sort. He was afraid. For all those in the FAYZ, both of them.

"Sam. Stop. Pacing. You'll only make yourself more worried. You get scary Sam," Morgan said as she held her hands on his shoulders to stop him. "Just stop."

He was in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. "You aren't a super hero, Sam. You may have super powers and be a 'fearless leader', but you are still only fifteen years old. You can't fix every damn thing, Sam. This isn't your fault."

"I can't fix everything," he repeated. "No one can."

"That's right." As Morgan spoke, Astrid came into Sam's "office".

"Sam," She said in a frantic, hurried voice. "People are eating each other! Get the council together!"

Here we go again, he thought. Although cannibalism was unethical and immoral, if the deed was done, it was done. He couldn't bring the kids back from the dead. Though Astrid seemed to think he was the sole leader, he was not anymore. He was one of many, a member of the council. Punishments were not what he had to do anymore, not alone. It was the whole council, not just him. He was not the sole year.

Sam was lost about what to say. Morgan wasn't. "What the hell, Astrid? I just got him to calm down! You and all your stories about cannibalistic children! He is not the only fucking one you can talk to! You get your tiny ass out of here and go to one of the other council members! Sam's got enough on his plate!"

Astrid's face was beat red by the time Morgan finished chewing her out. It was as if no one had ever told her to fuck off. "Excuse me?" she said indignantly.

Uh Oh. Sam thought. He knew that having his girlfriend and his cousin, who always stood up for what she believed in, in the same place. He saw both girls readying to fight. Sam had to take action quickly. "Whoa there ladies." He put his hands between them and pushed them apart.

"Morgan," he said as he turned to his cousin, "it's okay. She's allowed to report things to me. It's no big deal. And Astrid," he turned to her, "Morgan is also right. I am not the only one that you can go to. I know that I am your boyfriend. But I really need to be able to breathe easy. I don't always want to worry."

"It's too late for that, Sam," Astrid said dryly. "It was too late that first day. And you," she glared at Morgan. "It's too late for you too, bitch. Don't you ever forget that I am his girlfriend. Ever."

Sam could tell Morgan was biting her tongue. "And I have known him longer. So just give me a break and shut the fuck up."

With that, Morgan turned and left the room. "Nice," he sighed and walked out, leaving Astrid in his office.