It was getting dark when Dekka and Emily finally showed up. The sun was not yet set completely but it was getting close to it and now rays of light stroked across the blue sky. This was Dekka's favourite time of the day since she had returned home. She had come to truly appreciate the way the pink, orange, red and yellow was stretching in with the blue like a set of fingers reaching or like a paint brush had smudged the sun and the sky itself had slowly become a whole rainbow. And then there was the glow from the sun that reflected off of the white clouds overhead. It was definitely the most beautiful and colour time of day. A good time to join the others, though they wouldn't be able to do much before they would need to rest. Luckily they had both rested often while on the coach ride over. And while it had been stuffy in the coach after a while but the air outside was still warm with the wind picking up slightly so it was more comfortable for them when they eventually climbed down the steps and collected their bags.

They hadn't spoken for the rest of the trip to on the coach though they had looked like they wanted to and Emily frequently glanced up at Dekka. She assumed she was alone but Dekka constantly glanced over at Emily on her old Nokia phone whenever she wasn't looking at her. They were both as interested in each other as they thought just because they hardly knew anything about one another. Emily had been speaking to two different friends on her phone but mostly they seemed to be sending faces to one another or sending made up words rather than actually talking. Dekka found Emily a strange girl, scowling the whole time even when sending cheerful messages. She reminded her a bit of Dekka. Then she wondered if this was just her personality (like it was Dekka's) or if it was an after effect because of the FAYZ (like so many others).

After a while they had slept for a few hours each before waking and staring ahead in more silence. Emily was glad she had sat next to Dekka because after two more stops the coach got very crowded and now two elderly pair took the seat Emily had originally claimed. The worst was the loud mouths running to the back and laughing loudly enough to cause both Dekka and Emily to turn and scowl in their direction. But finally their stop came and Emily stood, only carrying her phone while Dekka grabbed a small backpack from above the compartment over their heads.

They had gotten off the coach together, stepping down the black steps. Emily had collected her large backpack and Dekka had grabbed two different suitcases but they were both small much like her backpack. Soon they had set off and, much like on the coach, they walked in silence the whole way on foot. Emily trailed slightly behind since she hadn't gotten out much and she did enjoy looking around at all the buildings and people around them. Also Dekka took much larger strides than she did and seemed a lot more excited to get there than Emily, probably because she couldn't wait to meet up with Sam and Astrid again. Not for the first time Emily wondered what Sam The Man was going to be like in person... It was like meeting a celebrity that everyone else always talked about but she didn't really care about all that much. Like she was only meeting him because everyone else said she had to.

Finally they found the street they were looking for after Dekka stopped and asked for directions from a strict looking officer.

"Excuse me?" Dekka asked politely. "Can you help us?" She showed him the address she had written in her black pocket sized notebook.

The man looked up and almost smirked when he looked at her. Dekka found it weird but chose not to say anything about it since they still needed help from him.

"What's your name?" The man beamed down with a clear false smile.

"Why?" Dekka frowned. She never liked giving personal information to strangers, she had been this way before, during and after the FAYZ.

Emily pushed forward to take over. They wanted to get this done out of the way. "My name's Emily, this is Dekka. Who are you?" She tried to sound polite but forceful in the same was as this man was being with them.

"My name's Ripley. I'm the officer for these streets." He smiled down at Emily and it somehow seemed warmer than the smile he had given Dekka.

"Can you help us?" Emily asked.

Ripley smiled and leaned down slightly as he began to explain to Emily just where to walk to find these apartments. Dekka again found this weird and frowned at him but said nothing. Maybe she was over reacting. He probably was just a normal guy and didn't mean to sound so dismissive of Dekka and so kind to Emily. It wasn't a race thing... Or anything as far as she could tell. She was over thinking it.

By the time she came back, Ripley was standing and Emily was nodding, memorizing everything he had told her carefully.

"You two be careful now. Are you going to meet a man named Mr Temple?" Ripley asked.

"That's right." Emily nodded.

Dekka frowned. He must have known Sam pretty well to know his exact floor and room number. Again this was disturbing Dekka and she watched him closely.

"Are you friends?" Now he turned his eyes to Dekka and again she felt a slight sneer.

"Yes." Dekka said proudly.

Ripley nodded. "I'm going to pass by there later. So I'll check in and make sure you got there alright." He beamed down at Emily who smiled back up at him but Dekka could see the same suspicion in her eyes. She wasn't going to be fooled just because he was nice to her.

"Thanks." Emily nodded.

The two turned and began to walk once more. Emily took the lead slightly as she had paid attention of where they were going but Dekka never let herself fall behind, not really. Ripley quickly left their minds as they came close to Sam's.

When they knocked on the right floor they waited, glancing at one another. Neither of them were prepared for what was going to be thrown at them but neither was willing to back away either. They were very much alike but maybe too much so. If Emily thought she might be making friends, then it certainly wasn't going to be with this Dekka girl.

Astrid answered the door after a long few minutes and greeted the two of them cheerfully with wide open smiles. Dekka even let her hug her. Emily just stood watching the two of them as they stepped inside, talking quickly about how good it was to see one another. Dekka had never been a fan of Astrid but she did like the idea of calling her a friend, and they clearly were of some kind since they were so happy to see one another again. Astrid smiled and shook hands with Emily while leading the two of them inside.

Inside, all the furniture was pushed against the walls and Kevin was settled on a box that had been covered with two tea towels with Edilio standing in front of it in the middle of the room. It was clear they were hiding whatever was under the box. Emily glanced over at Dekka but she hadn't seemed to notice. As soon as Dekka walked into the room she walked over and greeted Sam with a tight hand shake, the two of them beaming at one another and even Sam couldn't resist taking a step forward and hugging her like Astrid had. As soon as Dekka was finished greeting Sam, Quinn, Roger and Edilio with Emily watching in uncomfortable silence, Astrid sat them on the sofa that had been pushed beside the door. Emily glanced over towards the two doors that were firmly shut and wondered which room was which as Dekka told the others how her life had been so far, but being surprisingly vague.

"I am going to explain some things to both of you, but then I need you both to swear you won't tell anything else we tell you here. A pledge to God and yourself." Astrid said, suddenly serious.

Dekka nodded and Emily hesitated. She didn't know anyone here. She didn't know any of this. While Dekka, much like Emily, was happy to get back into the game and did know everyone.

Her parents were much better than they had been before they had sent her to Coates Academy. They no longer freaked out whenever they saw her, though they still certainly didn't appreciate her using the 'L' or 'H' word in front of them at any point in the day. She certainly wasn't allowed another girlfriend (not that she was exactly looking. No one could ever replace Brianna). But home life had gotten better only it was so normal. After what they had been through, normal was not something she was exactly looking for in her life. Dekka needed something to do to distract herself from the dreams that plagued her over Brianna. It wasn't a crush, she knew that now. Dekka loved Brianna. It was why she couldn't get over her that quick.

A pretty girl from her college class named Rae had asked Dekka out. She was definitely pretty, smart and almost as spiritful as Brianna but of course no one could be as pretty, smart or spiritful as Brianna. They had the same class together but Dekka mostly kept to herself and Rae had a lot of friends. She ran in the popular cliché groups but they had sat together on occasion, they had even been partnered to work on some art projects when doing paintings and sketches of objects and people. But they hadn't sat down and had a real conversation together. And then out of the blue, Rae had caught Dekka during study hall. She had asked her out, plain and simple, dinner and a movie that saturday night, even offering to pay. And Dekka had said yes. It was the shock that made her say yes. But immediately she regretted it. She had caught Rae later after classes and confessed she wasn't ready to go out with anyone.

"Thinking of an ex?" Rae said with a sad smile as if she had seen it coming. Her black wavy hair bounced around her shoulders when she shook her head. "I guessed as much."

"It's not that." Dekka mumbled. She felt so sad knowing why she couldn't go. She felt sad thinking about Brianna.

"But you are interested in someone else?" Rae asked.

"Yes." Dekka swallowed hard. "She passed away and I..."

"Say no more." Rae smiled and gave Dekka a hug. Friendly and almost enough to make Dekka relax. "Just... Give me a call if you ever need to talk or... Maybe when you're ready to move on."

Dekka snapped back to attention just as Astrid was asking if either of them had seen the reports from New York about the collapsing buildings that had just been on this morning before they had called them.

"I have." Dekka admitted. "There was... A... Rat that sunk into the ground."

"A prarie dog." Astrid nodded. "It had Duck's powers."

"Wait what?" Dekka frowned.

Astrid moved to explain about the animals and all they knew about them. The cat, the lizard and everything else that had been happening with these animals. The powers and the people they had attacked with them. She even admitted that they had been there when Abana had been murdered and that they had the fire starting lizard. Astrid had finally learned the name of the little girl who had died. Her name was Elizabeth Hester Ava Reyn. For such a long and interesting name no one bothered to find out until today because before today she had been put behind them in order for the rest of them to move on and to survive, but now she was back, it seemed right to refer to the lizard by her name at least.

"No way..." Emily whispered but there was a slight smirk pulling from the corner of her lips. This was exactly what she wanted. To be apart of the action this time!

"Way." Sam joined in.

"Show us." Dekka demanded, pointing at the box where they said Elizabeth Lizard was hiding.

Kevin climbed off the box and Edilio removed the tea towels covering it, revealing the lizard still rolling around inside, struggling to free itself and its mouth from the hair bands and pins. Neither of them reacted but Emily's heart jumped in her chest. Wow, this was real. Or otherwise they were all crazy and that was just a normal lizard tied up.

"So," Dekka paused. "What did you want us to promise not to tell? Was it the animals?"

"No. I need you both to raise your left hand." Astrid demanded.

After a long process, much longer than last time due to both Dekka and Emily interrupting her, they finally promised not to tell anyone anything outside of this little meeting. They both wanted in, Astrid could see it from the looks in their eyes. When they were done Astrid found she was at a loss for words and instead turned to look at Sam to do what he did best.

"Oh now you want the quick way?" Sam grinned. He looked at the girls and shrugged. "Seems Caine's alive and back too. In human form."

Dekka seemed to almost have been expecting this and didn't move. Emily however was not, and was pissed. She jumped up and glared at them just as the bedroom door opened and Caine stuck his head out with Diana. They must have been listening the whole time, waiting for their entrance. Emily turned and scowled at him but found she could not say anything.

"Hi again." Caine smirked.

"Go-" Astrid blinked at her language while Dekka smirked. "-Yourself."

"Look, let's ignore the fact that you hate Caine." Astrid said, pushing to block her glare aimed at him. "Most people in this room all hate Caine, or at the very least they can barely stand him on a good day. But this isn't about Caine. This is about these animals and the harm they can do and are doing. We need to stop them before they hurt anyone else."

Just like the first time, Emily wanted to know why they weren't leaving this to the police or even the other adults. She didn't seem to care or want to call the police but she did want to know why someone like Astrid and Sam weren't contacting them. Once again Astrid explained how they didn't know what they knew. She explained everything she had already explained and then added that she felt it was personal and that they might actually want to do it themselves.

Emily nodded her head like she was agreeing and Dekka almost smiled. "When do we start?" Dekka asked.

Sam laughed and stepped forward when the phone rang and disturbed their happy meeting. He froze mid step, worried it was his boss. He was not happy to hear Sam wasn't coming in and Sam had to come in early tomorrow to make up for it. Sam had promised but warned he might need to be taking his vacation early soon but he would need at least two weeks notice before he could have it. If he didn't wait he could lose his job!

Diana didn't seem to mind either way that her boss was angry at her, but she would need to head in to keep their income coming in to pay the rent.

"Someone going to answer that?" Edilio mumbled casually. He turned his attention back to the lizard rolling in the box.

Astrid hurried over and picked up the phone from its hook, holding it to her ear. She glanced around to make sure everyone else was quiet.

"Hello?" She asked, wondering if it was Sinder calling to cancel. Or someone else saying they changed their mind and wanted back in.

"Astrid? Is that you?"

"Anna?" Astrid frowned, recognising the voice. Then she felt hope. Maybe Anna was going to want to join back in again.

"Astrid, you know you said these animals were killing people?" Anna said, sounding scared. She was whispering down the phone which made it hard for Astrid to hear her over the sounds on the other end of the line.

"Yeah..." Astrid said slowly.

"Do animals include bugs?"

"... I... Anna have you seen something?" Astrid asked, she could see everyone was listening closely around her now.

"No." Anna moaned, sounding close to tears. "Look, Astrid. I'm at the hospital. Emma and I ran into Sinder on the way home and something was wrong with her. Her arm was green and she was shrieking and terrified. She nearly threw herself in front of a car in her freaking out mode and by the time we got to here we had to drag her back out of the way. Now her arm is pure green and she passed out."

"Where is she now? I mean. She's at the hospital." Astrid said, mentally slapping herself. "How is she? Is she okay? What's wrong with her?"

"They have her hooked up to all these machines now. She's all caught up. You know? They say she's in a coma but they don't know why or how, or even when she really went under. They say something must have bit her but they have no idea what because nothing that exist could have done something like that to her and her body. We don't know anything! And Sinder was so scared and now Emma and I are here and we don't know what to do!"

"Wait, what does this have to do with bugs?" Astrid blinked. "You don't know what happened then why did you ask about bugs and the animals?"

Anna was silent for a moment. "Sinder said it. When we got there we didn't know what was happening and then suddenly Sinder said that... It seemed like she was saying that... I could be wrong, maybe I'm over thinking it or I took it out of context but... Look she said that the thing that had attacked her was a butterfly. Like a real butterfly. She said that just before she passed out and... And I was wondering if it was a coincident or if... You're the Genius? So you tell me!"

Astrid hesitated then asked. "Are they letting anyone visit?"

"No." Anna moaned. "They don't know what it is and they're keeping her locked up in a room. We barely just got out of being locked up in case it was contagious. And that's only because they..." She stalled.

"They what, Anna?"

"They cut her arm, just a little to see if they could what it was. Like a poison or something. To see if they could find out what was wrong or something like that. In the end they just found something just as weird. And I don't know what it means and I don't get any of it..." Anna breathed when she realised she was babbling. "They found plants. Growing from her bones! Growing all inside of her! Not just that! It was poisoning her!"

"Can you come here?" Astrid asked.

"No. Emma is freaked. I need to be here for her. Is it a mutated bug or not?" Anna demanded.

"To be honest I don't know." Astrid whispered. "Just tell us the address where this happened and we'll check it out."

Anna wasn't sure of the exact address but she told them her own address and then where she went to find Sinder. That should help enough.

"It's the new house that's for sale." Anna explained.

"Thanks, Anna." Astrid smiled but it didn't feel right on her face. "That's a big help, don't worry, we'll sort this whole thing out."

"Um... I'll keep an eye on Sinder." Anna mumbled. "I feel bad for not doing anything so I'll keep an eye on her and send you guys updates if you want."

"Please." Astrid smiled again and this one felt genuine. "Thank you, Anna."

As they hung up Astrid turned to the others and swallowed hard. The news felt bitter on her tongue but she forced herself to snarl. "Sinder isn't coming."

"What?" Sam blinked. "Why? What is it? What's wrong? Why is she in the hospital?"

By now everyone was listening, having only heard a little of what Astrid and Anna said to one another. Roger and Quinn came out the room with Diana and Caine leaning in the doorway. Edilio and Kevin had stopped playing with the lizard and Sam, Dekka and Emily could not take their eyes off of her. Astrid felt sick and just wanted to sit down on the ground but she had to tell everyone everything. Just as Astrid began to explain there was a loud knock on the door.

"Oh for nugget's sake!" Astrid snapped, storming over to the door.

Normally Sam found it funny when Astrid said it like that. She had found her faith in God and so didn't like to say For God's Sake, and she couldn't say for Pete's Sake because then she thought of her younger brother. She didn't say anything but Sam knew she was still haunted by him. Even though she loved him so much. But now he couldn't find anything funny. Sinder was hurt. There was more trouble and Astrid was getting stressed.

"What?" Astrid snapped, throwing open the door. She froze and her eyes widened.

"Good evening," Ripley sneered. "Mind if I could come in and have that talk you promised?"

Diana turned and dragged Caine back into her room, slamming the door with a loud bang. Diana, like Astrid, was kicking herself of not thinking. They should have thrown Caine back into the room the minute they heard the knock of the door. But no one had been thinking after they got the call from Anna about Sinder and now they could very well pay for it.

"Mind if I come in?" Ripley grinned and pushed his way through before Astrid could stop him.

He practically pushed her aside and Dekka had to keep her from toppling onto the floor. Everyone stood watching Ripley now. No one moved apart from Kevin, who had suddenly thought of something and threw herself down onto the floor, blocking the lizard and the box from view.

"What do you want?" Sam demanded.

"Why, Miss Ellison and Ladris invited me over." Ripley said innocently.

Sam blinked and looked over at an equally confused Astrid. She had righted herself up and came to stand angrily beside of Sam.

"When?" Astrid snapped.

"The other day, remember." Ripley said innocently. "You and Miss Ladris had just gotten home and I had received complaints? You told me to come back later. Sadly, later I had to call in on some petty children having fights so I decided to pop by today instead. It's the same thing."

"No! No it is not!" Astrid snapped. "You cannot barge in here!"

Ripley completely ignored her. He glanced around, taking time to really look at everyone in the room. He paused a long smirk on Dekka who now fully glared at him. He glanced over at Emily but not for long while she frowned at him, and his eyes paused once again over Sam and Astrid while they just glazed over Roger, Quinn, Edilio and Kevin. He looked up at the two doors, one closed, one open. Astrid fumed with how well he knew their home, not even glancing at the bathroom but immediately fixing on the bedrooms.

"Where's Princess?" Ripley asked.

"She's asleep!" Astrid snapped. "Not that it is any of your business! We told you we don't know what happened and I asked Sam and he doesn't know either! Maybe someone broke in but caused too much noise and so ran away before they stole something!"

Ripley sneered down at Astrid. "So who are all your friends here?" He paused and looked at Dekka. "I mean... I know one of them."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Dekka growled.

"I know all the mutants of the FAYZ." He sneered.

Emily blinked and then covered her mouth and let out a giggle. This was why he had been so nice to her. He thought he knew all the freaks from the FAYZ but he didn't because he thought Emily was normal.

"What's so funny, Sugar?" Ripley asked.

Astrid stopped and silently thanked the Lord for the nickname he had given her. It was ten times better than being referred to as Sugar.

"Oh, nothing." Emily smiled, sickening sweet. "Just a personal joke."

Ripley frowned then gave her a smile. He turned to look back at Sam and Astrid, both of whom had not stopped glaring up at him. They were both looking angry but inside they were worried. If Ripley just went into Diana's bedroom he would no doubt be finding Caine hiding inside. They would not be able to do anything to stop him, short of hitting him over the head with a chair and getting arrested. And Sam was seriously considering it.

As if reading their mind he looked around the room slowly. No doubt taking in the fact that everything in the room was pushed against the wall and how Kevin was sat oddly with Edilio beside of him, both trying to casually hide the box behind them. Ripley was not stupid, he must be taking all of this in.

"Decorating?" Ripley sneered.

"Yes. Is that any of your business?" Sam snarled.

"Yes." Ripley shrugged. "What are all you doing here then? You never told me."

"We're having a party!" Sam growled. "You're not invited."

"Hurtful." Ripley sighed.

"You have to leave." Astrid snapped.

"Oh I do?" Ripley blinked.

"Yes." Roger was speaking up now.

"Who are you?" Ripley frowned.

"My name is Roger, and I am afraid to tell you that my parent's know the law, so therefore, so do I." Roger explained. Ripley raised an eyebrow down at him. "You cannot be here without a warrant. At least not unless you have the owners permission and you do not have Astrid's or Sam's so you have to leave now."

Ripley stared at him and then began to laugh loudly. "My, you really are a pain." He grinned like a snake then turned to Astrid and Sam. "Okay, I'm leaving. Just going to pop to the toilet if you don't mind."

Then he turned and headed straight into Diana's room.

G*O*N*E

The very first time It woke up was the first day of Its life. It had found Itself lying under a pile of leaves in a wooded area not too far away from the ocean. It had been aching for a while but after moving around It had been able to relax and think clearly for the first time since It had woken. From the moment It had woken up, It knew what Its purpose was in life. It had to find... Something... Someone... Okay, maybe It didn't know exactly what It was looking for but It had Its scent and It was going to search for them/it until It found whatever it was, or until It died.

After much time It had walked and run along the towns that surrounded It. Finally It found itself entering a small town after only a day or two of pure long travel. The town was not flashy, it was small, incredibly small, which made it easier for It to find what It was looking for. It still didn't know what that was but It knew It was getting close. The thing It was looking for was definitely in this very town.

But It still could not find who/what It was looking for. It searched all night when It wasn't moving around as much and when the town was much more still and quiet, giving It a chance to think clearly. During the day It curled up in private areas, under bridges, in abandoned or empty houses, alleyways and sometimes just in the street to sleep. So far no one had bothered It. Mostly they didn't see It, but when they did, they just turned and walked the other way.

Good. It didn't care about hurting people, but It didn't want to in case it brought attention on Itself before It could find it.

That night It woke as the sun was setting over the buildings. The disappearing light wasn't what had woken It. What had woken It was the two men dressed in strange uniforms that were leaning over him with grins on their faces. They had two sticks, on the end of each stick was rope that had been looped around in a large hole that Its head would fit in. They were talking to It, telling It to stay calm and moving to get the rope around Its head as if they were friends. But they were not friends and It was not going to let them put that rope around Its neck. No way was It going to be caught. It was not going to be trapped.

Barely ten minutes later, It was striding down the street with Its head held high with pride. Behind It, the two men lay on the ground. One of them had a broken skull and was silent and still, the other just had two broken shoulders where he had met with the brick wall and was sobbing and moaning in pain. Neither of them would be getting up any time soon.

Then It continued Its search.


30) Any guesses as to what/who this IT is?

31) Knowing what you do now about what happens, where would you have gone, The Lake? Perdido Beach? or Somewhere else to struggle to survive on your own.

Clove1113: Personally my favourite couple is Caine and Diana.
But I do like Sam and Astrid, and Roger and Edilio, and I liked Brianna and Jack (though I know most people don't).
And here is where I come across weird. I always thought Drake and Penny would get on great! :D (Mind you I do like reading CaineXDrake stories too... I have a weird mind!)