Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Michael Grant, various publishers including but not limited to Harper Collins Publishers. No money is being made and No copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

7 DAYS! till Fear is released! WOOHOO! OMD I cant wait! Any of you out there who need something to stimulate your brains while the official countdown begins here are some recommendations read them my self and they are amazing!

Maximum ride series(soo good and I'm only on the 3rd book, got all my friends reading it, there is currently a queue)

BZRK( another by Michael Grant surprisingly good(for teens only)

Skulduggery Pleasant series (words cant describe how good this series is)

The Hunger Games Series (read the book, watching the film on Friday so excited!)

That's all I got so far, you can only read so much in one week.

Chapter 23- Unanswered Questions Means Infinte Possiblities

Astrid set the plates down on the table as Edilio trailed behind her practising his powers, flicking and waving his wrist to set the cutlery. Sam and Diana were carrying various foods into the hall and laying them on different tables ready for everyone to eat. Today's dinner included roasted fish and cabbage soup, it wasn't preferred but it was better than starving to death. Caine had gone into the kitchen to check on the food supplies as he did at the end of each day. Just to ensure no one had stolen food and that there was enough food to last till the next delivery.

Once everything had been done, everyone started flooding into the hall drawn in by the smell of hot food. Soon the meal was underway everyone enjoying themselves sharing jokes and stories down the table. By the evening's end everyone was well fed and on their way to bed.

Astrid made her way to the room Diana had led her to earlier in the day. She went to the bathroom, washed her face then started to change into her pyjamas. While changing she noticed a full-length mirror behind her, Astrid paused then made her way towards the mirror. She stood in front of it looking at her reflection in the glass. Astrid turned to the side and scanned her body.

Nothing seemed to be obviously different now but Astrid knew it would only be a matter of time before she started showing. She sighed heavily before continuing to get dressed purposely avoiding the mirror in fear of the truth that it yet to behold. When she finished Astrid went into the main room, she started to put her clothes away when she heard movement behind her. Astrid froze and turned slowly she prepared herself to run but relaxed when she saw it was only Sam then tensed in anger.

"What are you doing? You could have given me a heart attack or something!"she yelled at him

"Oh sorry I should have indicated my presence cleared my throat or something."

"Yeah you should've" she said turning back around to continue what she was doing.

"I didn't mean to scare you I just wanted to know what your answer was." Astrid didn't have to ask what he was talking about she was sure they were thinking about the same thing.

"If you haven't made your mind up yet its fine I'll just find another place to sleep." He got up and made his way across the room. Astrid watched him go, she still wasn't sure if they should do this. Getting a break from the nightmares would be nice but sleeping in the same bed could also lead to other things which she'd much rather avoid for the time being. Although they are about to have a baby together which does require alot of commitment, if there was any time for Astrid to start completely trusting Sam then right now would be best.

Astrid walked forward and grabbed the back of Sam's shirt just as he got to the door. "Wait Sam, I want to give this a try, you know, sleeping in the same bed" she watched as Sam's face lit up."But that doesn't mean I want to sleep with you I just wanna take things slow for now." She watched again as Sam's face melted into a confused look before falling on a sad expression.

"You thought that I asked you to sleep with you, just so I could sleep with you." Any other time Astrid would have laughed at his lack of euphemism but his tone of voice and facial expression made her reconsider that decision.

"Look Sam this is a big decision to make and it could mean alot of other changes I just wanted to set some boundaries." She said looking directly at him.

"I know, it's alright if you want to I mean I am kinda of invading your privacy." He said looking away from her.

"You're not invading Sam" She said placing her hands on either side of his face so he could only look at her."I'm letting you in." She whispered "Now come on let's go to bed I'm tired and my back's kinda sore." She grabbed Sam's hand then made her way to bed yawning on her way over.
Astrid climbed in on one side while Sam got in on the other when they were both comfortable she flicked off the light and fell into a peaceful slumber with Sam by her side.

The sun had woken Astrid up the next morning shining brightly on her closed eyes, which now meant she made her way down to breakfast with a massive headache. After waking up to a bout of morning sickness, she'd gotten dressed and made her way down to the hall where everyone else was currently eating. The smell of food only made her feel more nauseous so in the end she opted to skip breakfast and go sit outside for a while in the hope that the fresh air would make her feel better.

After a few minutes her stomach no longer churned and she didn't fear losing her breakfast but still decided to stay outside favouring the fresh morning air to a cramp noisy hall. For a few minutes Astrid sat on a wooden bench listening to the random chorus of noises she could hear from the desert, the sound of approaching footsteps soon joined these sounds. Astrid turned to see Edilio making his way towards her a smile on his face.

"What are you doing out here Astrid?" She could even hear the smile in his voice. He sat beside her on the bench.

"Nothing, I just wanted a bit of peace and quiet before we go to the mine shaft" Astrid replied,Edilio's smile left
"You know Astrid that dream you had yesterday seemed a bit . . ."Astrid turned to look at him with an accusatory glare.
"Yes what about it?"
"Nothing" he held up his hands in an 'I surrender' way "It's just don't you think it would be better if you stayed here with Diana while Caine, Sam and I went instead" Astrid could feel heat rising to her cheeks; she started to count to ten when . . .

"Especially considering your current state and all". Astrid saw red

"What do you mean my current state? Are you implying that I'm incapable of doing simple things like taking a trip to a mine shaft just because I'm pregnant!" Edilio began to back away Astrid hadn't even realised they'd both gotten to their feet.

"No, no that's not what I meant at all, what I was trying to say was-" Edilio struggled to keep his footing, while backing away so fast.

"What you were trying to say is that now that I'm pregnant I can no longer do the things normal people do! Well I'm not made of glass if I want to go to the mine shaft with you guys than I'm going and not you or anybody else is going to stop me!" And with that she stomped off, her cheeks fuming and breath coming out in hot pants.
What a great way to ruin the start of her day(!)

Dakota sat staring at the girl opposite her, she had dirt stuck in her braces and kept talking to this, Tanner person who obviously wasn't there. They seemed by having an argument about something and Tanner was winning. Dakota was baffled.
Dakota and her brother were on their way to town when he'd suddenly halted. At first he seemed to be confused then had watched as his face ywisted and contorted strecthed and moulded into something else. A girl then stood in his place and now she sat in the sitting room of an abandoned house. Dakota was officially confused.
Where was her brother?
Why had he left?
Why was this girl in his place?
Should she kill the girl?
If she killed her would her brother come back?
Had this girl killed her brother? Dakota shook her head in confusion, no killing this girl may not be the right choice considering the current situation. Then out of nowhere the girl turned towards Dakota.
"Hi I'm Brittney"

Sam sat alongside in the middle of Astrid and Edilio as the group made their way to the mineshaft in one of Coates Academy's car hadn't been availible yesterdy so thankfully they could use it now they'd have had to walk to the mine. The journey was surprising long (even with the car) going first up the highway then down another road that led to what Lana called Hermit Jim's Shack from there they would walk to the mineshaft. It took around 45 minutes especially at the speed they were going at. Caine's driving wasn't the best mainly because he'd never been officially taught and also because he was a 15 year old boy in a Landrover lightweight (google it).

He looked over to Astrid but didn't say anything the window was all the way down so the wind blew pretty fiercely in the back seat, making Astrid's hair fly about in a way that made her look scary. She seemed to be in a bad mood and he didn't want to give her anymore reason to be upset. Sam sighed and leaned forward no one was talking and the atmosphere was very tense. There was no radio so they couldn't play music and mysteriously there was also no CDs.

Eventually they made it to the mineshaft, Sam clambered out thankful to get out of the car. As they approached the mineshaft he could tell something was not right. The closer they got the more Sam could tell something was wrong. He could see rocks in places they shouldn't be and by the looks of things they had been moved recently.

Then out of nowhere Astrid stopped a scared look on her face; she was pale, sweat pouring down her face. Caine suddenly broke out into a run closely followed by Edilio. Sam looked back at Astrid; she didn't blink only standing straight and stiff. He was about to walk towards her when he heard Edilio yell his name. Quickly glancing at Astrid he ran over and stared in fright at what he found. Someone or something had pulled away the rocks and debris from the entrance leaving plenty of space for a certain prisoner to escape. Sam felt something drop in his stomach and dread fill all corners of his mind. All he could hear were questions.
What happened?
Who did this?
Was it Drake?
Wasn't he supposed to be dead?
Where was he now?
What were they going to do now?
Was it safe anymore?

Diana squinted to see what was going on ahead of her, when suddenly she heard a thudding sound she looked back and saw that Astrid had fallen and now sat on the floor her head hung low.

"Astrid!" she ran forward and tried to get Astrid to sit straighter than she was now. "What's wrong? Are you ok?"

"I-I. . ." she stammered her eyes swivelling unable to focus. Diana noticed.

"Okay, okay it's alright. I'm just gonna ask you some questions, okay?" Astrid nodded her eyes still not focusing.

"How long have you been feeling dizzy?" Astrid paused she didn't answer immediately and her face scrunched up as she tried to answer the question as if it was much more difficult than it seemed to be.

"Umm, I think it was around 15 minutes but I didn't want to say anything or worry anyone." She frowned.

"Alright umm when was the last time you ate?" there was another pause this time longer than the last.

"Last night" Diana gasped then looked angrily at Astrid.

"What were you thinking?" Astrid looked confused and scared. "Don't you realise you go without meals like that. You're pregnant. Think about the baby no wonder you're not feeling well!" Diana was angry she couldn't believe Astrid would do something like that especially since there was food provided she just chose not to eat instead. Risking the health of her child and herself.

"I'm sorry Diana I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to hurt my baby." Her voice broke at the end and tears ran down her face. She cradled her arms around her midsection and started murmuring under her breath. Diana sympathised with her she obviously didn't know what would happen if she missed meals but that didn't mean she should've taken the risk.

"Look Astrid I'm sure everything's fine and you're just feeling a little light-headed." She pried Astrid's arms away from her midriff "Here lemme listen to the baby's heart beat." Diana placed her hand on Astrid's abdomen. Sam walked up behind her.

"What's going on Astrid are you alright?" he sat next to her and held her hand. Astrid looked uncertain and didn't look like she wanted to answer Sam. Diana just did the honours.

"She felt a bit dizzy so I told her to sit down while I checked the baby's heartbeat." Sam had been looking over Astrid checking for any physical damage but when Diana had spoken he looked up in bewilderment.

"Listen to the heartbeat?"

"Shh! I think I can hear something." It was loud, louder than it was last time. Maybe because she was listening to it through Astrid's hand. Diana heard a fast but steady hear beat boom-boom-boom. She smiled then pulled away. "Your child's fine, now, do you still feel dizzy?"
Astrid shook her head, "nope."

"Then you're ready to get up." Diana stood first while Sam helped Astrid to her feet. Diana looked ahead and could see Edilio and Caine heading back towards them.

"So what's going on?" She didn't miss the glance Sam and Caine shared.

"Someone has moved all the rocks and now the mine's empty" Edilio said, Diana gasped looking at each of them in turn looking for any signs of a joke. However she failed to see how this little revelation didn't shock Astrid.

"How could this happen? He's dead!" Diana yelled They were in the car on their way back to Coates, no longer seeing any point in being there since to bury a corpse first one had to have a corpse.

"We know he's dead unless someone has deliberately taken the corpse we have to assume the worst." Caine tried to reason

"But it just doesn't make any sense. I mean the dead don't walk even in the FAYZ, do they?" Edilio asked sounding uncertain.

"I don't know" Sam replied

"Who could have done this it would've taken heavy machinery and a lot of time to dig up those rocks." Diana stated

"That means whoever has done this either had heavy machinery . . . or powers." Caine noted

"What? How?" Edilio asked. Caine opened his mouth to answer but Sam got there first.

"If you think about it what normal person do you know that would be able to move all those rocks and debris."

"There is no sign of a struggle, no blood. I mean think about it. The hole is not even small, the whole mineshaft been dug up whoever did this didn't care if they would be caught since there is no attempt to cover their tracks." Caine explained

"Wait what about Astrid's dream? Wasn't there someone in her dream who was also digging up the mine?" Diana asked. All eyes turned to Astrid who had yet to participate in the conversation.

"The thing in my dream could shape shift and also use the powers of whoever it was. I have no idea who could be behind this." She whispered

"Well what do your dreams mean? It's not every day someone has dreams that correspond to real life events." Edilio asked

"It means that Astrid's dream was what could have happened if we'd gone to the mine yesterday. It also means that something is out there that can imitate anyone, in fact that person could be in this car right now." Sam answered

"Well it's not me, and I can prove it, I've been with Caine the entire time and he's been with me." Diana added

"Well it's not me; they broke the mould when they made me." Edilio pointed out

"Ha-ha very funny, well I can confidently say it's not me but I'm not really sure how to prove it."

"Tell me something that only I would know." Astrid said, Sam leaned over and whispered something in her ear. Astrid flushed red and gasped, she pulled away. "Yeah it's definitely him." She announced

"And she's definitely Astrid no one can imitate a heart beat within a stomach." Diana pointed out.

"Well now that that's been settled we need to think of a way to verify that you are really you. Especially in dangerous situations." Caine said eyes still on the road.

"Oh! A code I've got one I've been saving it for a situation just like this." No one questioned why Edilio had been prepared for this situation. Caine thought it best not to ask."Okay the first person goes: 'why do coyotes talk?" and the second person goes: 'because they have something to say'"
The car was silent for a good few seconds before anyone talked.

"How about something simple like: 'How long does it take to dig a hole?' then you reply 'any length of time because there's no such thing as half a hole.'" Astrid suggested

"I like the second one better." Diana said followed by a chorus of agreements.

"Then it's been settled." Astrid said That's the code statement. Now when's lunch I'm famished."

Over the next few days, everyone just stayed at Clifftop hanging out and talking. Astrid was helping Diana with a garden she was attempting to grow while Sam and Edilio helped Caine with any improvements that needed to be done in the building. The code message wasn't used every time they saw each other or else someone would hear them so it was decided to only be used in extreme case and emergencies.

Edilio was currently helping fix a problem with the plumbing while Caine and Sam worked on some holes in the roof. He liked doing all this D.I.Y it gave him a good opportunity to practise his powers, which lately had been improving. Every now and then he would help set the cutlery at meal times or fix a jammed door handle just stuff like that. Little jobs but vital for practise.

By the time he was finished he could smell hot food wafting up stairs and immediately made his way down to dinner. After they'd eaten Sam, Astrid and Edilio decided it was time to return to Perdido Beach, they'd had lots o fun at Coates but they had homes at Perdido and unfortunately responsibilities.
The next day they woke up early so they could make a fresh start, there was a ton of things that needed to be done when they returned to Perdido Beach. Goodbyes were exchanged and soon they were on their way home.

Ah Chapter 22 is done, Took ages but here it is a longer than my average chapter length!

Special thanx to:

emilyroorose-thanx for the message but I'm not gonna have enough time to participate!(EXAMS!) Sorry!

Mutaz ()- course I'm gonna finsh it

wszystkozajete - thsnx for the review but no spoilers ;]

MischiefManaged532 - thanx for the alert add!

hpgirl1564 - Hope my FanFic doesn't spoil it for you! Get back to me when you've read them all I wanna hear your opinion!

luv2beloved - hope I dont disappoint

Sibuna-Girl99 - omd thak you sooo much you literally boosted my monday to a 10. I had a business studies exam and soo much to do but when I got your emails I immediately felt better. I even told all my friends!

Thanx to everyone who' reading as well you guys are awesome!

Please review

hunnybunny ;]