Disclaimer: The Gone Series belongs to Michael Grant. I want to live in a castle and be Batman.
Time Frame: Post-Lies as if Plague hasn't existed yet.
Author's Note: Goooollllleeeee! I've been gone for a long while, haven't I? I bet you guys have wondered where I was. You haven't? Oh, well. All right then... xD
Raynold shifted slightly in his hard, plastic hospital chair. He glanced over at Drake who was flexing his whip with a relaxed expression on his face. The sadist looked up and glared at Ray.
"What do you want?" he demanded. Ray shook his head and looked back to the ground. He was furiously deciding what to do. He had seen the three kids he needed to find in this very hospital. Ray shivered. Mina had been with them. If he told Drake or Nerezza now, they would rip the girl to shreds to keep her from talking. She hadn't done anything wrong. Ray was slowly realizing Nerezza wasn't the savior he had thought she was originally. He really liked Mina, especially after she had helped him with the many trips to pick up other injured kids. The boy didn't want to see her hurt, much less wanting to be the reason she would be injured.
He rubbed his forehead. What to do, what to do…
Suddenly he heard voices pass by his room. One was very feminine while the other was low. Ray jumped up to see who it was. He deliberately blocked the entire window of the door so Drake couldn't see over his shoulder. With a skip in his heart, he saw it was Mina and the shadowy boy. She was trying to hold a conversation with him with which the boy seemed to take only minor interest in.
"Who is it?" Drake asked, he himself only being barely interested in who it was.
Ray watched them slip into an examination room. He took a deep breath. The guy with Mina would be safe for the meantime while Drake and he went after the other two. Ray made sure the pair were completely out of sight before turning to Drake. He forced excitement into his voice.
"I saw them!"
"Saw who?" Drake didn't even look up.
"The two guys Nerezza wanted! The surfer dude and the Mexican." Ray said loudly.
Drake looked up from his whip, a cross expression on his face. "Yeah, well last time you said it, you ended up dragging me in here. I could have slashed some backs before being thrown into this mission with you. Which is, by the way, not fun. And I tend to become aggressive when I'm not having fun. Are you sure you saw them?" There was an underlying threat to Drake's words.
Ray shivered slightly. "I'm absolutely sure it was them." He racked his brain for proof. "The Mexican kept calling the surfer 'Sam.'" Ray knew it was a dare but it seemed to have gotten the monster's attention. "And the Mexican had a gun!" Ray had seen a flash of metal in the folds of the boy's shirt. Clearly he was trying to hide his weapon but Raynold had perfect vision and saw right through it.
"Temple and the wetback sheriff," Drake murmured, dead eyes growing bright with malice. "Maybe you aren't just seeing things. Let's go!" His whip snapped close enough to Ray's ear to almost make him flinch.
Ray nodded and slipped outside. He made sure to pass by the room Mina was in and shout a warning. It couldn't have been very long and detailed since 'Whiphand' was practically breathing down his neck right behind him. Ray quickly thought up one that was subtle enough to slip by the sadist.
"Hey, Mina! I thought today was you day off today!" He shouted, rushing Drake quickly past the room. He wasn't sure if he imagined it or not, but he thought he saw the shadow boy's face flash for a moment before disappearing out of sight. "You should leave as soon as possible and catch some sleep. Hurry up and go home."
Mina was silent for a moment. "I have some things I have to do!" she called back. Ray wasn't sure if she had gotten the hint or not. He hoped she had. At least she hadn't mentioned what she had to do. If she had shouted out about the three strangers, Ray was sure he—and Mina—would die just then and there.
Drake didn't seem to notice anything. His mind was too busy thinking of ways to torture 'Temple and the wetback' as he had put it. Ray could have sung opera while tap dancing in front of him and Drake wouldn't have realized it. His mind was too full of bloody fantasies.
Ray suppressed a disgusted sigh and led Drake down the hallways to where he thought the two would be. To purposely irk Drake, he had chosen the longest possible way. He had crossed one bathroom six times and the sadist still didn't notice. Ray shook his head sadly and went down his twelfth flight of stairs.
"I think Nerezza is here."
"Nerezza? That girl who always hung around Orsay?" Edilio asked, tilting his head.
Sam nodded. He had forgotten that his friend had been unconscious for most of the part with Nerezza and Mother Mary. People had told the Honduran what had happened but apparently it must not have been a very accurate cover or many facts must've been dropped. Sam quickly refreshed Edilio on what happened. He nodded sagely.
"What makes you think Nerezza is here?" he asked Sam.
"Mina told me that this girl with green eyes suddenly showed up and nobody knew who she was. Well, this mysterious girl knew just what to do to keep the town from falling apart. I think she's Nerezza."
Edilio suddenly paled. "If Nerezza is here…then Caine must be right. That monster…the Darkness Lana always talks about…must be here." He absentmindedly rubbed his chest where Lana had shot him while she was possessed by the Darkness.
Sam frowned. "Yeah." He shuddered and rubbed his arms again. The two were talking in Sam's room right after Mina had dropped them off. She had waved goodbye and dragged a protesting Caine away. Sam and Edilio quickly grabbed the chance to talk without worry of being overheard by stranger's ear or a Coates's ear. After talking with Astrid and Lana, Sam felt like he understood the Darkness a little better than the others did. Naturally Caine would know the most out of the three except Sam hadn't wanted to ask him yet.
"The Darkness is bad," Edilio concluded flatly.
"Really bad," agreed Sam. "It could be moving here to try to finish what it started in Perdido Beach. We just have to make sure it doesn't posses anyone like it did with Lana or Caine. It got too far with Drake."
Edilio's frown deepened. "With Nerezza here, I think some people already are."
"So, how come for the sudden visit to see your cousins?" Mina asked cheerfully as she led Caine to an examination room. "Definitely not the best time to visit."
Caine blinked at her then shook his head slowly. "Oh, actually we aren't here to visit cousins. That was just a lie my brother came up with." Stupid Sam and his stories.
Mina's smile faltered for a moment. "Then why are you here?"
"You won't believe me," Caine said thickly.
She smiled warmly at him. "Try me," Mina said, leading him down another hallway. Caine knew he should be taking note of the twists just in case he needed to escape but he didn't really care. If Sam wants me, he can come find me, he reasoned. "Every person over the age of 15 just disappeared. It can't get any weirder."
Um, yes it can. I've lived it for a year. The boy was silent for a moment. He was trying to get the story straight in his head. He briefly wondered about telling the truth. He could just picture it in his mind. 'Yeah, so I can move anything I want with my mind, my brother shoots lasers out of his hands and the Mexican? Well, he's just a good guy, I guess. We all get sent to this place by some genius's mentally challenged little brother and we are being chased by a pyschopath who literally has a whip for an arm. Some radioactive monster gave it to him if he'd be its slave. What a ride. Hey, what are you doing? No, I do not want my straitjacket back. No, I do not want to go back to Saint Johansson's or whatever the place is you're talking about. Yes, I really can move things with my mind. Wanna see? Wait! Come back! Don't lock me up!' Caine grimaced. A 'Let's Go To Coates Conversation' was what he would have called it back before the FAYZ ever happened. Back when terrorizing the adults was normal.
Mina led him to a large white room with various machines. She set him down on a cool hospital cot and crossed her arms. "Tell me," was all she said. Caine sighed and dove into his story. It took all of his already shredded charm and wit to try to make it somewhat plausible. Even then Caine thought he sounded like a loon and he had been there throughout the entire thing. He started with the beginning of the FAYZ and his rule and worked through defeating the Gaiaphage. He touched briefly about the flight to the island before working back into the actions that had led him here. He explained all about Little Pete and Sam and Edilio. He even mentioned Diana a few times. By the time he had finished, Mina was staring at him with a look of wonder and horror. Caine knew she thought he was mad. It had taken almost two hours to tell and she politely never interrupted except to ask an occasional question. At one point during his story he saw the kid from the hallway peer in through the window. He instantly stiffened and wondered if he should just act casually or move away. The boy moved away and Caine was rewarded with a sight more terrifying. He had been so horrorstruck to see Drake, Caine threw himself off the bed. I killed him a long time ago! He argued in his head, remembering the night they crashed through Perdido Beach. Drake's dead! But here he was with his shark grin and horrible whip. Caine breathed out shakily in relief. Drake hadn't seemed to have seen him—too lost in some awful fantasy which Caine had no doubt he was part of. His throwing himself off the bed didn't earn him any sanity points from Mina. When Drake was gone, Caine slowly lifted himself back on the cot. Something had bit him was his poor excuse.
The first thing Mina did when the boy in front of her finished his story was check to see if he was burning a fever. She pressed her hand against his forehead. Caine protested and pushed her away.
"You don't seem like you have a fever. How hard did you hit your head when the car hit the tree?"
Caine scowled. "See? You don't believe me. And we didn't hit a tree. There was no car. I told you that whole cousin story was a cover-up. I just appeared here with Temple and the Mexican! And now I have to leave. You probably should too…" Before the psychopath with a freaking whip on his arm finds us.
Mina's lips tightened and went white. "I'll have to run some tests on you to make sure your brain is functioning properly."
Caine paled. "You can't! You're what…thirteen? You aren't a doctor!" He shouted, not caring if Drake was in the next room. He wasn't about to let a kid do anything to him. If he was actually hurt and if there was a healer nearby then maybe. But from a kid who was just getting used to the FAYZ-like thing that trapped them? Not on his life. He was only a few seconds from using his powers. That would certainly prove his story. It was about was all Caine was able to think before a needle stuck him in the arm. He gasped slightly as he felt himself fall forward. It had felt just like when he ate Sanjit's poisoned food. He slipped into a deep sleep for the first time since the day at the island. And for once he wasn't worried about Drake or getting back or Sam and the others. But he really hoped the girl wasn't going to try to perform surgery on him.
"Caine isn't back yet. D'ya think Nerezza might've gotten him?" Sam asked, feeling slightly worried. Though he had no great love for his brother, it was helpful to have an ally in a strange place. If Caine went back to the Darkness's side, they all were in trouble.
Edilio shrugged. "I bet he just sulked back to his room. His room is a few away from where ours are so we might not have heard or seen them coming back."
Sam nodded, feeling a bit better. "Okay," he said with a forced smile. "We'll just grab him when we break out tomorrow."
"Break out?" Edilio looked surprised. "But…there's food! Why are we running away from the place with food? Do you know how long it has been, man, since I have had something with a nutritional fact bar on it? Loooong time."
"Yeah, well, we can steal some on the way out. I think we should get away as soon as possible. Do you remember the expression that boy—what's his name…Ray?—gave us?"
Edilio nodded. "I thought he was just surprised. We aren't the most common people to see." He rolled his eyes. "Apparently me and my 500 names."
Sam shook his head. "I don't know. I just had this feeling he isn't to be trusted…not yet at least. Not until we get to know him. We shouldn't trust anyone here yet until they prove themselves to be trustworthy." A picture of Caine flashed briefly in the boy's mind.
Edilio seemed to have the same idea. The boys talked a little bit more about many different things. Most revolved around things back at Perdido Beach. Was everyone still okay? How many fish had the fishers caught? Was the council was able to handle itself with only five members? Was the stupid Human Crew acting up again since Sam and Edilio were gone? The main question the two wondered about was rather simple.
How come it was they who were sent to Pilot Spring?
Neither of them could come up with a suitable answer. Sam's reason was because they were the first three Little Pete saw at the beach while Edilio's reason was more practical. He said it was because they must've drawn the short straw sometime in their life and was sent here because of it. Karma, basically. The two talked a little bit more before a yawn spread between them. They smiled sheepishly at each other. It was clearly too late to be talking. They decided to break out the first thing in the morning after swiping a good bit out of the hospital's vending machine. Edilio called out good night as he crossed the hallway. Sam turned out the nights and slipped into the stiff hospital bed. The last time he had been in one of these was when he broke his wrist a few years ago. Back when all he wanted to do was surf with his brah and survive school. The thought of his past live made him feel somewhat relaxed. Sam breathed out contentedly and closed his eyes.
He was halfway through his next breath when the pillow came down on his face.
A bit of a cliffhanger there, aye? And guess what? You won't find out what's going to happen to Sam until, like, four chapters. Bwhaha! I love random filler chapters. Thanks to all of you readers and reviewers out there. You, not coffee, are what get me up and about in the very early morning.
HungryInTheDarkForNachosLOL - I hoped that Sam wasn't too OOC in this. You will get to see more of Malachi in the later chapters. He's definitely a character. You can decide for yourself if that's a good or bad thing. Thanks for the review!
Kate of Carlay - I've had people point out gun safeties to me many times. It's pretty hard to keep track of a little button xD. Just wait until all of these hidden clues come into place. Thank you very much for reviewing!