Hey! Thanks for all the reviews! They made my day! Here is chapter four, so please read and review again! I forgot to include this… I obviously do not own Gone, Michael Grant does. It would be awesome if I did, but I cannot take credit for his amazing writing!

Review and enjoy,

-GoneLoverMM

Chapter Four

Astrid had collapsed on the floor of the cave. The gaiaphage beckoned to her then.

Come.

It called to her.

I am in need of you.

Astrid could not refuse its' orders. So she crawled on hands and knees towards it. Astrid had never seen the gaiaphage before. In her head she had imagined – well she didn't know what she imagined. An alien maybe? The gaiaphage looked like millions of pulsating, neon green, lights that somehow held its form. It reminded her of the diagrams of atoms she had seen in her science textbook.

When Astrid was closer it called to her again.

Hold your hands against me.

"No." Astrid said aloud. Her weak attempt was futile though. Icy splinters of pain raced through her skull. Her blood-curdling screams rang throughout the cave. "Okay, okay!" She sobbed as she rested her hands against its moving surface.

Noooooo

The gaiaphage roared.

You are not as pure as I thought.

Astrid's breath caught in her throat.

You are like two half's of one whole. You are neither good nor evil. Your blood is polluted. You have seen too much, done too much evil.

Astrid took in a breath, preparing herself. "Then let go of my brother. He is very pure. He has never done anything to harm anyone."

The gaiaphage barked a laugh.

His goodness is of no concern to me. He is powerful. The most powerful being I have ever seen. He is nemesis. You are useless.

That statement cut deep. It seemed petty considering the circumstances, but Astrid couldn't shake it. She had always felt sort of useless since the coming of the FAYZ. Sure, she had her brain, but she could never truly help Sam. She had left him alone in a losing battle. Astrid's self preservation instincts kicked in at that moment. If she couldn't save her brother, then she would save herself.

"Let me go then." Astrid demanded. "You said it yourself that I am useless."

I actually do have use for you. You need to bring me the dark and the light. The two half's of one whole. The blood sharers.

Astrid was quick to understand. This monster wanted her to bring him Sam and Caine. However, she would never follow through. She would never bring them here. Caine had already been so he knew of its' horrors. Sam though – he had no idea. The gaiaphage must have heart her thoughts. She felt the pain then. The icy splinters tore through her brain, leaving icy pain in their wake.

You will not disobey me. I am the darkness. You are weak. You are human.

"Okay, okay!" Astrid screamed. "What do I have to do?"

You must bring me the blood sharers. If they sacrifice their lives and surrender their powers, I will give you back nemesis.

"And if I don't?" Astrid called.

Drake

The gaiaphage called.

"No! No! No!" Astrid screamed. She squinted into the darkness, searching for his face. "Please, Please, No!" She sobbed.

That's when she saw him. His face was illuminated by the ghastly, green glow. He was smiling sinisterly. Astrid remembered that smile. It was the smile he had been wearing when he had told Astrid to call her brother a retard. It was the smile he had worn when he had tried to shoot her on the balcony. Astrid had never been more afraid in her life.

Drake show her what will happen if she disobeys me.

He walked over to her then and raised his blood red, whip arm. She closed her eyes and tried to protect her head. She heard the whip whistle through the air. She felt the burn as it licked her back. He raised his arm again and again.

Stop Drake. She needs to be able to do her job.

The darkness said to a sniveling Astrid.

Now go. I'll be watching. The darkness now covers everything. No more light will shine until you bring me the blood sharers. Only the Pure Light can save you all.

Astrid forced her aching body to stand up, not fully comprehending what had just been said. She unsteadily made her way towards the cave opening. The pain was intolerable. Astrid was crying and bloody dripped down her back. She collapsed outside the mouth of the cave. She lay there until she lost consciousness.

Edilio Escobar woke up, but it was still dark outside. He thought that it was weird because he still felt well rested. He rose from his bed. Sam was sleeping fitfully, and Dekka was right out. Edilio walked outside. It was pitch dark, without even the light from the moon.

This was weird. Every single night since the coming of the FAYZ the moon had shone. It was a given. Something definitely felt wrong. Edilio didn't want to, but he had to wake up Sam. He walked back into the houseboat and to Sam's bedside.

"Sam!" He called to the sleeping boy. "You need to wake up man!"

"Whaaa…" Sam said still half asleep.

"Dude, you need to wake up, now!" Edilio said urgently.

"Okay, okay, I'm up." Sam said as he slid out of bed. "What craziness now? Is something burning? Is someone dieing?"

"Come see for yourself, man." Edilio said as he led Sam out onto the dock.

They stood then in silence for a moment.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked. "I don't see anything…"

"It's dark, man." Edilio stated.

"Yeah so," Sam shrugged, "Shouldn't it be? It's the middle of the night."

"I don't think it is dude." Edilio said. "Look at the sky. Where is the moon?"

Sam took that in. "I don't know man," He said, "I think we should wait a bit before we freak out."

"Yeah okay." Edilio agreed.

So they waited. Dekka joined them after a while. Same with Diana and Brianna, but the sky did not lighten. They waited for hours, but the sky still remained dark. Something was definitely wrong.

"What do we do now?" Edilio asked.

"I don't know," Sam answered honestly. "It's just the FAYZ man. It's just the FAYZ."

Howard had been a mess ever since Orc had disappeared. It always seemed like Howard had been using Orc to get himself ahead. At first it was exactly that. However, Howard had really developed a liking for the gravel-covered monster. He would call the kid his best friend.

He knew that Orc was off in the dessert somewhere. Where exactly? He had no idea. However, he had to look. He couldn't leave his best friend to fend for himself! After all, Orc had never been the sharpest tool in the shed. He was loyal though. Howard respected that. That's why he had to be loyal to his friend and help him out.

The last time Howard had found Orc off in the desert somewhere, it had been outside of that creepy cave. Howard remembered the creepy, old mining town. He shivered involuntarily at the memory. He didn't want to go on foot again, so he had bribed one of Albert's drivers with a bottle of his alcohol.

She had accepted, and now they were both heading towards the mineshaft in a dirty, red pickup truck. It was dark outside, and no moon was shining. Howard thought that that was weird, but he didn't really give it much thought. A moonless sky was the least of his problems.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at sleepy, deserted town. The driver had driven like a madwoman, so they had made it there in record time. Howard got out of the car, and walked a few feet on the path. He was only a few feet from the mouth of the cave when he heard a moan.

"Hello?" He called in the darkness. "Anybody there?"

He heard the moan again. It was coming from in front of him. He wanted to bolt, run away like a bat out of hell, but what if it was Orc? What if he needed help? Howard summed up the courage then and continued forward. As he got closer, he could see a figure lying in the dirt. The figure was small, much to small to be Orc, but it was definitely a kid.

Howard was right in front of the body now. He bent down and turned the kid over. He gasped. It was Astrid. She was a mess. Her long, blonde hair was filthy and tangled. Her whitish blouse was stained red, and her back looked like a slab of meat. She was unconscious, but she was alive.

Howard called to the driver. "Man, you have to help me! Bring her back to town, she has to see Lana!"

The driver was there quickly, and both boys carried Astrid's limp body back to the pick up truck. They laid her town in the bed. She was slowly gaining her consciousness.

"It burns…" She mumbled. "Help me! Help me! It burns!"

"It's okay, Astrid!" Howard called. "We are bringing you to Lana!"

"No!" She said. "Bring me to Sam! I need to protect him."

"Uh… okay." Howard said.

He would take her to Sam, but first she would see Lana. That was not an option.

It was still dark when Bug arrived back at Perdido Beach. He had caught a ride with one of the gas drivers. The entire ride Bug had been trying to figure out a way to break the news to Caine. There was no way to do it. He would get upset no matter what. Who knew what he would do then! Bug prayed to God that he wouldn't be the one halfway through the wall.

Bug was more nervous than he had ever been as he made his way up the stairs of town hall. He could no longer hold down his dinner. He leaned over the stair-rail and threw up into the bushes. Having nothing in his stomach didn't really help the queasiness.

Bug knocked on the wall like had had last time. He noticed that the door had been propped against the wall. It no longer hung vertically.

"Come in." Caine called.

Bug did as he was told. He sat down in the chair across from Caine's desk just as he had last time. Bug looked Caine over. He didn't appear to be angry. He looked relaxed. This in turn allowed Bug to relax a little.

"So Bug," Caine smiled that winning smile of his, "What did you get from the Lake?"

Bug decided to start lightly. "Uh… It seems kind of disorganized," Bug began, "But everybody is eating and drinking."

"Okay," Caine said, "Anything else?"

"Diana is there." Bug watched Caine closely.

"And?" Caine prompted.

All of the humour had left his eyes. Now he looked cold, reserved. This only intensified Bug's nerves. He wanted to throw up all over again.

"She is okay." Bug answered meekly, "She is living on a house boat with Brianna."

Caine laughed aloud. "Really!"

Bug bobbed his head.

Caine laughed again. "I really must have done a lot for her to do that. Diana cannot stand Brianna."

"Yeah, I guess." Bug responded.

Caine observed him closely for a minute. Bug tried to slow his breathing, to try and appear less nervous. Caine saw straight through his weak attempt.

"No tell me Bug," Caine stuck his thumb in his mouth, "You respect me, right?"

Bug nodded tightly.

"Then why are you withholding information? Especially information about my girl, are you afraid of my reaction?"

"Kind of…" Bug answered honestly.

"Well Bug, I don't think you want to know what will happen to you if I have to go to the Lake and find whatever this secret is myself."

Bug obviously heard the threat in his words. Basically if he didn't tell Caine about Diana, he wouldn't be telling anybody anything ever. Bug took a deep breath. Now or never.

"Diana is healthy." Bug said.

"And what else?" Caine said crossing his arms over his chest.

"And she is also pregnant, with your baby."

Bug barely had time to close his eyes before he felt himself flying through the air.