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    Plague
    Plague
    Plague
    Ebook482 pages6 hours

    Plague

    By Michael Grant

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Plague, Michael Grant's fourth book in the bestselling Gone series, will satisfy dystopian fans of all ages.

    It's been eight months since all the adults disappeared. Gone.

    They've survived hunger. They've survived lies. But the stakes keep rising, and the dystopian horror keeps building. Yet despite the simmering unrest left behind by so many battles, power struggles, and angry divides, there is a momentary calm in Perdido Beach.

    But enemies in the FAYZ don't just fade away, and in the quiet, deadly things are stirring, mutating, and finding their way free. The Darkness has found its way into the mind of its Nemesis at last and is controlling it through a haze of delirium and confusion. A highly contagious, fatal illness spreads at an alarming rate. Sinister, predatory insects terrorize Perdido Beach. And Sam, Astrid, Diana, and Caine are plagued by a growing doubt that they'll escape—or even survive—life in the FAYZ. With so much turmoil surrounding them, what desperate choices will they make when it comes to saving themselves and those they love? 

    “Grant’s sf-fantasy thrillers continue to be the very definition of a page-turner.” —ALA Booklist

    Read the entire series:

    • Gone
    • Hunger
    • Lies
    • Plague
    • Fear
    • Light
    • Monster
    • Villain
    • Hero
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateApr 5, 2011
    ISBN9780062077165
    Author

    Michael Grant

    Michael Grant, author of the Gone series, the Messenger of Fear series, the Magnificent Twelve series, and the Front Lines trilogy, has spent much of his life on the move. Raised in a military family, he attended ten schools in five states, as well as three schools in France. Even as an adult he kept moving, and in fact he became a writer in part because it was one of the few jobs that wouldn’t tie him down. His fondest dream is to spend a year circumnavigating the globe and visiting every continent. Yes, even Antarctica. He lives in California with his wife, Katherine Applegate, with whom he cowrote the wildly popular Animorphs series. You can visit him online at www.themichaelgrant.com and follow him on Twitter @MichaelGrantBks.

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    Reviews for Plague

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      It makes you so sick blood sprays out your mouth with every body-wracking, lung-wrenching cough. They call it a plague, and here in the FAYZ(Fallout Alley Youth Zone) a plague is the last thing they need. Sam is the leader, the one in charge. Kids are getting sick, coughing so hard their intestines are flying out their mouths. People are thirsty yet there's no water. So Sam goes on a mission to find safe drinking water. But there are bugs in the way, giant bugs they hatch in eggs under your skin then gnaw their way out of your body. Drake is back reeking havoc on Perdido Beach doing whatever the gaiaphage wants him to. He's being controlled by radioactive goo living in a cave. Caine is off on an island living in luxury but is summoned back because only he could have enough power to defeat the bugs. It is only until Astrid throws her autistic brother Little Pete, who caused the FAYZ and made the dome around Perdido Beach, that the bugs disappear. Along with Little Pete, gone.I give this book a 5 star rating it was so exciting to read because in the middle of a chapter it would jump from one person's situation to another. All while being told in third person. I was on the edge of my seat while reading this and i didn't want to put it down. The ending made me want to just pick up the next book immediately. I would recommend this book series to anyone who wants to read an exciting, yet somewhat disturbing series of amazing books.
    • 5/5
      I love this series!
    • 4/5
      I'd like to see this storyline actually go somewhere - mostly each successive book has simply introduced a new terror that the hapless kids have to suffer through. There is still very little explanation about what happened and what is real.
    • 5/5
      it was amazing i read the first three and was hooked
    • 5/5
      Amazing.
    • 5/5
      READ IN ENGLISH

      Fourth book in the Gone Series. I liked reading it, it is always something to look forward to when I see the newest of the Gone novels has arrived at my library. Again with this one.

      One could possibly think that after four books, the story tends to get a bit boring but somehow that isn't how I see it. I loved reading it, and I think they're getting better every book I read. They have new problems every time, but they don't seem that weird for me.
      I've also read Kings Under The Dome, which has some parallels, but I actually like this series better. I'm really interested in what comes next and I can't wait for my library to finally buy the fifth book!
    • 4/5
      Not quite as good as the previous ones - only one new character introduced and the plot dragged.
    • 5/5
      Out of all the four novels, Plague was definitely the harshest and most graphic. Flu that makes kids - literally - cough out their lungs and cockroach-like insects eating their way out of people's bodies...yeah that's pretty gory...When I first saw how many books this series had, I thought the series would be like those hella long series' that would drag on and on and on, but boy was I wrong. Michael Grant definitely keeps outshining himself.Plague got me hooked right from the beginning. The book kicked off with Pete's point of view. It was so cool seeing how Little Pete interpreted the world around him. We got to see Pete's powers grow stronger and I was curious about that breeze at the beginning of the book. Each chapter of this book made me want to keep reading on to the next chapter. As a result, it was pretty hard going to sleep.The beginning of the first chapter was unexpected for me. When I scrolled to the first chapter, I was imagining all kinds of scenarios in which Sam would be working hard and stressing himself out as a leader of Perdido Beach but "Sam Temple was drunk", was not any one of those previously imagined scenarios. Also, the fact that he's making such a big deal about not having sex with Astrid was annoying, but since he's fifteen years old and can get hormonal makes me understand. (Not that I'm fifteen years old or a boy).I have someone who has really started to annoy me in the last book and now irritates me a lot. Lana. I used to like her; she was heroic, funny, and nice. Now she just mostly stays with her dog, Patrick, in her room at Clifftop. She smokes, drinks, and is extremely rude and offensive to others who approach her. I get that she's bitter about the gaiaphage controlling her and making her shooting Edillio, but she healed him right? She used to be cool, now she's just selfish and self-pitying. I get that you've had it bad, but others have had it much worse. You don't have the flu or bugs eating their way out of your body or a murdered brother/sister. Maybe since Sanjit is very optimistic and cheerful, he might pass some of that on to Lana...Brianna is so cool! I loved when Caine was getting his ass kicked by those cockroach bugs and she just swooped in and saved the day. You go girl! My favorite characters are Brianna and Dekka; they sure can stand up for themselves... unlike Astrid who was basically wallowing in self-pity throughout the whole book. The ending. Oh my God. It's so mysterious and vague. I'm so excited to proceed to the second-to-last book of this series!Overall, this was a highly exciting and adrenaline rush-filled book with a polished writing style and intriguing characters. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes quick paced and action packed books!
    • 4/5
      Me:"Some kids are just a special kind of stupid..."Inner goodie goodie:"But Jess...they're just kids!"Me:"I know...but they're just so...I'm sorry that was a bit harsh"Inner goodie goodie:"It's okay I still love you"Let's quickly recap the Gone series so far:Kids are trapped inside a dome like area with no one over the age of 15, that is until a group of kids figured out a way to avoid disappearing. They've experience severe hunger due to lack of organization in the beginnings of their little predicament. Some kids have discovered special powers. The kids have had a a few types of "governments" and like real life governments, they have kept things hidden from the public to avoid panic. A real "genius" decided to turn off the power within the dome to prove he was smart (but really because he's an idiot). There have been real full blown legit battles where kids have died. Now it seems that the next thing they've yet to experience is a plague, spanish flu style.The interesting part about this book is that there are really two plagues that they have to deal with. One is the flu that causes kids to literally hack up their guts and die a horrible death via coughing. The second is in form of a flesh eating parasite that cultivates inside the body of an unsuspecting kid and eats it's way out to find and lay their eggs inside another kid. How do they defeat the plagues? Read it to find out.Now on to my real review time...I really liked how some of the minor characters got more developed. Little Pete has been this little blur in the novels. Although he's played a big part in how the FAYZ started he's just been like the coffee table of furniture, just there for show not really doing anything. He gets a pretty decent POV for a bit. Last book we were introduced to a couple of new characters and they were not forgotten in this installment. Another great thing is the gory details. I hate it when authors use "he cursed under his breath" or something stupid like that and also censor the violence and horror. Fortunately Grant wasn't afraid to lay down the scene and show us what was going in with the nasty little parasites or the war with Brittney/Drake. And I actually liked the progression of the plot this time around. Although it's still a little sketchy and slow moving it's a lot more engaging. The plot is better and it was decent but at the same time it wasn't SO MUCH BETTER than what I had hoped for. Even though I said there's gore galore, I still found it just as annoying when he would use "he howled in pain" like 30 times. But it's just a minor thing. Also the new found romance between Lana and Sanjit? Like, what? I didn't get it. I feel like the author only spent time thinking about Caine and Diana because theirs is the only match that makes sense (despite being the most chaotic one) But what the actual F-U-D-G-E!!! (I can't believe I censored myself) 15 YEAR OLD KIDS ARE ALREADY FORNICATING??? At that age I was busy thinking about choir or musical practice...and then they didn't even use a C-O-N-D-....don't make me spell it outloud. I'm such a prude -_- I'm sowy So yeah.
    • 4/5
      The threat of starvation is receding in Perdido Beach, and the horror that is Drake has been imprisoned, but now a new threat is emerging. A devastating disease is spreading through the FAYZ - a terrifying illness that causes sufferers to cough up their lungs. At the same time a new infestation is growing - one that eats its victims from the inside out, and one that even Sam cannot kill.Plague is the fourth book in the popular Gone series and it is the best yet. Terrifying, horrifying, disturbing, no reader will rest before the final page is turned - and eve then, they will be left wanting more. If you have yet to read this series, I recommend that you do so. You will not regret it.
    • 3/5
      This is the fourth book in the series and not one for the faint hearted or for anyone who is either squeamish or that does not like characters dying. As the title suggests, it is not a happy-go-lucky story - it is grim, it is gritty and it leaves you feeling faintly unclean and hungering for the next instalment.
    • 5/5
      Plague grabs your attention from the start and holds it all the way to the end. A lot of twists, turns, fighting and death. I am looking forward to reading the 5th book.
    • 5/5
      This series is everything you could want from a dystopian adventure. You've got good vs. evil, you've got kids in charge of things, you've even got super powers and mutations! Every volume leaves me breathless and in anticipation of the next book. If you're the kind of person who's not so into the love triangle, you won't get that from this series, but there were some things in this volume that added to the relationship dynamic in the FAYZ. There's a very big shock with Diana! And again, we lose some people we would have liked to save. And the newest character to be introduced is very intriguing to me, I'm excited to read more about him! I'm so happy to have started reading a series that still has me so enthusiastic after the 4th book. I highly recommend these books, not only for teens and young adults, but for adults like me as well.
    • 5/5
      This book was about a cold going around. Many kids died and many got well. Many found there powers. Many didn't get powers. The cold was a plague. Many got sick. Others helped them. Many others saw there parents once again.I gave this book a five star rating. I gave it a five star rating because it was great. It was not what I expected. I loved this book. I recomend this book to everyone. I was really happy with the ending. I would read it again. I really liked this book.
    • 5/5
      PAGETURNER ALERT! The final chapter of the Gone series, this one has two plagues attacking the kids in the FAYZ: a flu-like virus that kills when you start literally coughing bloody chunks of your lungs out, and a ravenous infestation of alien, parasitic flesh-eating bugs. The descriptions of the bugs growing inside of the characters and then emerging to finish the job is not for those who have a weak stomach! The kids with superpowers both good and evil are up against their ancient, deeply buried enemy, and the key to defeating it and its rampaging bugs is wrapped up in the mind of Little Pete, Astrid's autistic brother. Little Pete has vast powers, but no way to communicate or use them to help those around him. Edilio has been elected head of the governing council in this Lord of the Flies world, though Sam and Astrid are the real leaders on the good side, and Caine is the leader of side of evil. Joining forces for survival is a necessity, not an option. The water is running out, the food is getting difficult to find, and there are those who have mutated into creatures that author Stephen King would have been hard-pressed to imagine. Difficult choices, horrifying consequences, wild situations and zero adults equals an amazing end to this series! 8th grade and up for violence and mature content.
    • 4/5
      It has been several months since everyone over the age of 15 disappeared from Perdido Beach and nothing has gotten better for the residence of the FAYZ - in fact, things are getting worse. Sure, Brittney/Drake has been captured but for how long? Water is scarce and badly needed as more and more members of the FAYZ are coming down with a killer flu. Some set off to find more water, but the trip will be dangerous as there are killer insects on the loose - insects that like to eat people from the inside out. On top of all this there continues to be a struggle for control of the FAYZ but who is the true leader - Sam, Caine, or someone else? "Plague: A Gone Novel" is the fourth novel in Michael Grant's thrilling "Gone" series for young adults. I have to confess I was a bit wary about reading this book out of fear that the series was dragging on too long - each book is huge and there are more books to come. However, after a bit of a slow start Grant quickly pulled me into the story, and soon I felt like I was right beside Sam, Astrid, etc. The series continues to remind me of a Stephen King series for the younger crowd, and, like King, Grant pulls no punches when it comes to gore and killing off favorite characters (or seemingly killing off characters - those that appear dead may not be.) Once the story gets going, the action is nonstop and you can't help feeling sorry for some of the characters - just when there seems to be hope something bad happens. Mixed in with the action and gore is some humor -some intentional (like the introduction of Toto) and some perhaps not intentional (Caine was a bit over-the-top in this book). The book focuses quite a bit on romantic relationships - one very sweet and a few that aren't quite working out as well - this is a nice touch reminding readers that while they are fighting adult battles underneath it all they are still children and teenagers. While there are some surprises in this book, none quite equal the ending of Lies: A Gone Novel, which is a shame. The series needs more endings like that in order to keep up the pace. "Plague: A Gone Novel" is an action-packed sci-fi fantasy for young adults.
    • 5/5
      Amazing. I don't know how he does it. He has so many well developed characters, plot twists, and the good vs. evil thing going on. I love how this book was action packed i think this was one of his best. I loved how the roaches couldn't be killed easily and how Sam had to think of different ways to kill the bugs. I liked how they had to bring Caine back in to the plot. I love how Brianna now knows the truth about Dekka. I also love Toto the Truth Teller. I thought that was a wonderful character to add in plus it really added to the books humor in certain scenes. Plus Jack got his time to shine which i really enjoyed. I thought it was kind of weird how Astrid believed she killed her brother, she has seen him disappear before. I also didn't like how now Brittany and Drake are both evil because they visited the gaiaphage. I also think that he should be killable and would like to see him dead in the next novel, maybe introduce a different type of evil besides Drake. Other then that, I truly loved the novel i think it was amazing and i loved the ending. Diana pregnant and choosing Sam's side. Awesome
    • 5/5
      This book is where I draw the line for my 5th graders, however, I loved it! A lot of the elements are really 'science fictiony' in this story and makes you sometimes question 'Really?!?!", but after all this series is about a dome that goes over a small city and only leaves people under the age of 15 there....not to mention some of them have super powers. So, a little bit of 'crazy' should be expected from this series. Once again, the charcters are the main element of this book. Instead of making new additions Grant really focuses on those he's already created and their relationships. There are a few out of character scences for a few very beloved characters, but nothing that should absolutely shock the reader. **Spoiler Alert**The reason I won't just openly hand this book to my students? Diana and Cane decide to have sex, and surprise, surprise she ends up pregnant. Now, is there a pornographic sex scene in this book? NO, I'm just not okay with the concept at the age of 15 and for it to be okay just because there are no adults around...which is usually why it happens anyways.Overall a good story and I can't wait for the next installment to come out! 
    • 3/5
      This series is still quite entertaining, but we are devolving into ridiculousness a bit. Zombies with multiple personalities? Parasitic alien radioactive bugs? Setting all that aside, though, this installment was better than the previous one. The action moved along swiftly, the characters seemed a bit more believable. I feel like Michael Grant is stretching this series out several books longer than it needs to be, but I'll keep reading them anyway.
    • 4/5
      The 4th book in the Gone series is just as exciting, energetic and action packed as the pervious three books. A plague is sweeping through the FAYZ and kids are dying of a hacking cough that is ripping their lungs apart. But this is not the only plague they kids have to deal with; an infestation of insects, but these are no normal bugs, these incubate in an entirely new way.Sam and his gang head off in search of water, but along the way find a ‘new’ kid who has been on his own and hidden from the formation of the FAYZ. Caine/Brianna are still answering to the Darkness, but the Darkness now has a new kid is wanted by Darkness.Loved the continuation of this series, the plot and characters are getting better and better.
    • 5/5
      My reaction after I read the last line of Plague? I was speechless, is all I can say. All you need to know is that I am DYING to read the fifth book, when the fourth hasn't even been released yet. But you need to know more, don't you? Michael Grant's writing style is unique in every way. Believe me when I put him right next to JK Rowling. He belongs there. And I mean it. For those of you who have read the first three books in the Gone series, you are well aware of the many different things happening at once. Every one and a half to two pages of so, we leave one character hanging from a cliff and run of to another. And its not just two of them. There are about four or five different things going on at once and in the end, everything ties together in one perfect ending. To me, that's beyond words (as you can tell from my weak explanation). To me, that's sheer genius. In the latest installment of the Gone series, Sam and the kids in the FAYZ are far from content. Water is scarce, a horrifying sickness is spreading, and mutilating, sickening bugs are hatching out of human bodies. That's right, hatching out of the kids - and they can't even feel a thing. Sam, with some of Perdido Beach's best fighters, is sent to scout for water, while Astrid is contemplating murder, and Caine is living luxuriously on the island. But of course, this is the FAYZ, nothing lasts long. Heart pounding, thrilling, and all-around unputdownable, Plague is a masterpiece.
    • 5/5
      Book 4 of the Gone series, grabbed and made my skin crawl at times. Things in the FAYZ continue to get worse as the survivors endure a deadly plague and an invasion by bugs controlled by the Darkness. Little Petey mysteriously is still somehow controlling the rules of the FAYZ. Reading the earlier books in the series, I wondered how the series would continue through six books. This volume really picked up some steam as the kids in the FAYZ continue to navigate life and structure society with no adults present.

    Book preview

    Plague - Michael Grant

    ONE

    72 HOURS, 7 MINUTES

    SAM TEMPLE WAS drunk.

    It was a new experience for him. He was fifteen and had once or twice snuck a sip of his mother’s wine. He’d drunk half a beer when he was thirteen. Just to see. He hadn’t liked it much, it was bitter.

    He’d taken a single hit off a joint back before the FAYZ. He’d practically hacked up a lung and then spent an hour feeling bleary and strange and finally sleepy.

    It had never been his thing. He’d never been part of the partying crowd.

    But this night he’d gone to check on the caged monster that was both Brittney and Drake and had heard Drake’s vile, obscene threats and howling, murderous rage. And then, far worse, he’d heard Brittney’s pleas for death.

    Sam, I know you’re listening, she’d said through the barricaded door. I know you’re out there, I heard your voice. I can’t take it, Sam. Sam, end it. Please, I’m begging you, let me go, let me go to Heaven.

    Sam had been to see Astrid earlier in the evening. That hadn’t gone too well. Astrid had tried, and he had tried, but there was too much wrong between them. Too much history now.

    He had kissed her. For a while she had kissed him back. And then he’d pushed it. His hands went where he wanted them to go. And she’d shoved him away.

    You know I’m going to say no, Sam, she said.

    Yeah, I’ve kind of gotten that message, he said, angry and frustrated but trying to maintain some semblance of cool.

    If we start, how long do you think it will take before everyone knows?

    That’s not why you won’t sleep with me, Sam said. You won’t do it because you think it would mean giving up control. And you are all about control, Astrid.

    It was the truth. Sam believed it, anyway.

    But if he were being honest instead of just angry, he’d have admitted that Astrid had her own problems. That she was filled with guilt and didn’t need one more thing to feel guilty about.

    Little Pete was in a coma. Astrid blamed herself, although it was stupid to do so and she was the furthest thing from stupid.

    But Little Pete was her brother. Her responsibility.

    Her burden.

    After that rebuff Sam had stood awkwardly while Astrid spooned artichoke and fish soup into Little Pete’s nerveless lips. Little Pete could swallow. He could walk if she guided him. He could use the slit trench in the backyard but Astrid had to wipe him.

    That was Astrid’s life now. She was a nurse to an autistic boy with all the power in their world locked inside him. Beyond autistic now: Little Pete was gone. No way to know where he was in his strange, strange mind.

    Astrid hadn’t hugged Sam when he said he was leaving. Hadn’t touched him.

    So that had been Sam’s evening. Astrid and Little Pete. And the twinned undead creature Orc and Howard kept watch over.

    If Drake somehow escaped, there were probably only two people who could take him on: Sam himself, and Orc. Sam needed Orc to act as Drake’s jailer. So he had ignored the bottles beside Orc’s couch and confiscated only the one in plain view on a kitchen counter.

    I’ll dump this, Sam had told Howard. You know it’s illegal.

    Howard shrugged and smirked a little. Like he’d known. Like he’d seen some gleam of greed and need in Sam’s eye. But Sam himself hadn’t known. He had intended to smash the bottle or dump it out on the street.

    Instead he had carried it with him. Through the dark streets. Past burned-out houses and their ghosts.

    Past the graveyard.

    Down to the beach. He’d cracked the seal, ready to pour it out on the sand. Instead he’d taken a sip.

    It burned like fire.

    He took another sip. It burned less this time.

    He headed up the beach. He knew in his heart where he was going now. He knew his feet were taking him to the cliff.

    Now, many sips later, he stood swaying at the top of the cliff. The effect of the booze was undeniable. He knew he was drunk.

    He looked down at the small arc of beach at the base of the cliff. The slight surge painted luminescent curves on the dark sand.

    Right here, right where he was standing, Mary had led the preschoolers in a suicide leap. All that kept those kids alive was Dekka’s heroic effort.

    Now Mary was gone.

    Here’s to you, Mary, Sam said. He upended the bottle and drank deep.

    He had failed Mary. From the start she’d taken charge of the littles and run the day care. She’d carried that load almost alone.

    Sam had seen the effects of her anorexia and bulimia. But he hadn’t realized what was happening to her, or hadn’t wanted to.

    He’d heard nervous gossip that Mary was grabbing whatever meds she could find, anything she thought would ease her depression.

    He hadn’t wanted to know about that, either.

    Most of all he should have seen what Nerezza was up to, should have questioned, should have pushed.

    Should have.

    Should have.

    Should have . . .

    Another deep swallow of liquid fire. The burning made him laugh. He laughed down at the beach where Orsay, the false prophet, had died.

    Good-bye, Mary. He slurred, raising his bottle in a mock toast. Least you got outta here.

    For a split second on the day that Mary poofed, the barrier had been clear. They had seen the world outside: the observation platform, the TV satellite truck, the construction underway on fast food places and cheap hotels.

    It had seemed very, very real.

    But had it been? Astrid said no: just another illusion. But Astrid was not exactly addicted to the truth.

    Sam swayed at the edge of the cliff. He ached for Astrid, the booze had not dulled that. He ached for the sound of her voice, the warmth of her breath on his neck, her lips. She was all that had kept him from going crazy. But now she was the source of the crazy because his body was demanding what she wouldn’t give. Now being with her was just pain and hollowness and need.

    The barrier was there, just a few feet away. Impenetrable. Opaque. Painful to touch. The faintly shimmering gray dome that enclosed twenty miles of Southern California coastline in a giant terrarium. Or zoo. Or universe.

    Or prison.

    Sam tried to focus on it, but his eyes weren’t working very well.

    With the exaggerated care of a drunk he set his bottle down.

    He straightened up. He looked at the palms of his hands. Then he stretched out his arms, palms facing the barrier.

    I really hate you, he said to the barrier.

    Twin beams of searing green light shot from his palms. A torrent of focused light.

    Aaaaahhhh! Sam shouted as he aimed and fired.

    He shouted a loud curse. And again, as he fired again and still fired.

    The light hit the barrier and did nothing. Nothing burned. Nothing smoked or charred.

    Burn! Sam howled. Burn!

    He played the beams upward, tracing the curve of the barrier. He raged and howled and blazed.

    To no effect.

    Sam sat down suddenly. The bright fire went out. He fumbled clumsily for the bottle.

    I have it, a voice said.

    Sam twisted sideways, looking for the source. He couldn’t find her. It was a her, he was pretty sure of that, a female voice.

    She stepped around to where he could see her. Taylor.

    Taylor was a pretty Asian girl who had never made a secret of her attraction to Sam. She was also a freak, a three bar with the power of teleportation. She could instantly go any place she’d ever seen or been before. She called it bouncing.

    She wore a T-shirt and shorts. Sneakers. Unlaced, no socks. No one dressed well, not anymore. People wore whatever was halfway clean.

    And no one traveled unarmed. Taylor had a large knife in a nice leather sheath.

    She was not beautiful like Astrid. But not cold and remote and looking at him with defensive, accusing eyes, either. Looking at Taylor did not fill his brain to overflowing with memories of love and rage.

    She was not the girl who had been the center of his life for all these months. Not the girl who had left him frustrated, humiliated, feeling like a fool. Feeling more alone than ever.

    Hey, Taylor. Bouncy bouncy Taylor. T’sup?

    I saw the light, Taylor said.

    Yeah. I am all about light, Sam slurred.

    She held out the bottle tentatively, not sure what she should do with it.

    Nah. He waved it off. I think I’ve had quite enough. Don’t you? He spoke with extreme care, trying not to slur. Failing.

    Come sit with me, Taylor, Taylor, bouncy Taylor.

    She hesitated.

    Come on. I won’t bite. Good to talk with someone . . . normal.

    Taylor rewarded him with a brief smile. I don’t know how normal I am.

    More normal than some. I was just checking on Brittney, Sam said. You have a monster inside of you, Taylor? Do you have to be locked in a basement because inside you is some psycho with a whip arm? No? See? You are so normal, Taylor.

    He glared at the barrier, the untouched, unfazed barrier. Do you ever beg to be burned into ashes so you can be free to go to Jesus, Taylor? Nah. See, that’s what Brittney does. No, you’re pretty normal, bouncy Taylor.

    Taylor sat beside him. Not too close. Friend close, conversation close.

    Sam said nothing. Two different urges were battling in his head.

    His body was saying go for it. And his mind . . . well, it was confused and not exactly in control.

    He reached over and took Taylor’s hand. She did not pull her hand away.

    He moved his hand up her arm. She stiffened a little and glanced around, making sure they weren’t seen. Or, maybe, hoping they were.

    His hand reached her neck. He leaned toward her and pulled her to him.

    He kissed her.

    She kissed him back.

    He kissed her harder. And she slid her hand under his shirt, fingers stroking his bare flesh.

    Then he pulled away, fast.

    Sorry, I . . . He hesitated, his wallowing brain arguing against a body that was suddenly aflame.

    Sam stood up very suddenly and walked away.

    Taylor laughed gaily at his back. Come see me when you get tired of mooning over the ice princess, Sam.

    He walked into a sudden, stiff breeze. And any other time, in any other condition, he might have noticed that the wind never blew in the FAYZ.

    TWO

    72 HOURS, 4 MINUTES

    IT WAS AMAZING what decent food could do for a starving girl’s looks.

    Diana looked at herself in the big mirror. She was wearing clean panties and a clean bra. Skinny, very skinny. Her legs were knobby, with knees and feet looking weirdly big. She could count every rib. Her belly was concave. Her periods had stopped and her breasts were smaller than they’d been since she was twelve. Her collarbones looked like clothes hangers. Her face was almost unrecognizable. She looked like a heroin addict.

    But her hair was starting to look better, darker. The rusty color and the brittleness that came from starvation, they were disappearing.

    Her eyes were no longer dead, empty shadows sunk into her skull.

    Now her eyes sparkled in the soft lamplight. She looked alive.

    Her gums weren’t bleeding as much. They were pink, not red, not so swollen. Maybe her teeth wouldn’t fall out after all.

    Starvation. It had driven her to eat human flesh. She was a cannibal.

    Starvation had deprived her of her humanity.

    Not quite, Diana said to her reflection. Not quite.

    When she had seen that Caine would destroy the helicopter with Sanjit and his brothers and sisters she had sacrificed her own life. She had toppled from the cliff to force Caine to make the choice: save Diana or kill the children.

    Surely that act of self-sacrifice balanced out the fact that she had bitten and chewed and swallowed a cooked chunk of Panda’s chest.

    Surely she was redeemed? At least a little?

    Please? Please, if there is a God watching, please see that I have redeemed myself.

    But it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. She had to do more. For as long as she lived she would have to do more.

    Starting with Caine.

    He had shown just a glimmer of humanity, saving her and letting his intended victims go free. It wasn’t much. But it was something. And if she could find a way to change him . . .

    A sound. Very slight. Just a scrape of foot on rug.

    I know you’re there, Bug, Diana said calmly, not looking back. Not giving the little creep the satisfaction. What do you think Caine would do to you if I told him you were spying on me in my underwear?

    No answer from Bug.

    Aren’t you a little young to be a pervert?

    Caine won’t kill me, a disembodied voice said. He needs me.

    Diana crossed to the California king–sized bed. She slipped on the robe she’d chosen from among the many in the closet. They belonged to the woman whose bedroom this had been. A famous actress with very expensive taste who was only one size bigger than Diana.

    And her shoes fit almost perfectly. Close to seventy pairs of designer shoes. Diana slipped her feet into a pair of fleece-lined slippers.

    All I have to do to get rid of you, Bug, is to tell Caine your powers are increasing. I’ll tell him you’re becoming a four bar. How do you think he’ll react to having a four bar sharing this island with him?

    Bug faded slowly into view. He was a snotty little brat of a kid. He’d just turned ten.

    For a moment Diana felt something like compassion for him: Bug was a damaged, messed-up little creep. Like all of them, he was scared and lonely and maybe even haunted by some of the things he’d done.

    Or not. Bug had never shown any evidence of a conscience.

    If you want to see naked girls, Bug, why don’t you creep up on Penny?

    She’s not pretty, Bug said. Her legs are all . . . He twisted his fingers around to demonstrate. And she smells bad.

    Penny was eating better, like Diana. But she was getting worse. She had fallen from one hundred feet onto water and rocks. Caine had levitated her back up the cliff. But her legs were broken in a dozen places.

    Diana had done what she could to set the breaks, made splints out of duct tape and boards, but Penny was in constant agony. She would never walk again. Her legs would never heal.

    She lived now in one of the bathrooms so that she could drag herself to the toilet when she needed to. Diana brought her food twice a day. Books. A TV with a DVD player.

    There was still electricity in the house on San Francisco de Sales Island. The generator supplied a weak and faltering current. When Sanjit had lived here, he’d been worried that fuel for the generator was running out. But Caine could do things Sanjit couldn’t. Like levitate barrels of fuel from the wrecked yacht rusting at the bottom of the cliff.

    Life here was very good for Diana and Caine and Bug. But life would never be good for Penny. Her power—the ability to make others see terrifying visions of monsters and flesh-eating insects and death—was of no help to her now.

    She scares you, doesn’t she, Bug? Diana asked. She laughed. You tried, didn’t you? You snuck in on her and she caught you.

    She saw the answer on Bug’s face. The shadow of a terrifying memory.

    Best not to make Penny mad, she said. She pulled on slacks. Then she patted Bug on his freckled cheek. Best not to make me mad, either, Bug. I can’t make you see monsters. But if I catch you spying on me again, I’ll tell Caine it’s either me or you. And you know who he’ll choose.

    Diana left the room.

    She’d resolved to be a better person. And she would be. Unless Bug kept bothering her.

    The three Jennifers. That’s what they called themselves. Jennifer B was a redhead, Jennifer H was blond, and Jennifer L had her hair in black dreadlocks. They hadn’t even known one another before the FAYZ.

    Jennifer B had been a Coates kid. Jennifer H was homeschooled. Jennifer L was the only one who’d attended the regular school.

    They were twelve, twelve, and thirteen, respectively. And for the last couple of months they had shared a house on a cul-de-sac away from the center of town.

    It was a good choice: the big fire had come nowhere near the development.

    Now, though, it seemed like a bad choice. The so-called hospital was blocks away and the three of them could all have used a Tylenol or something because they all had the same headache, the same sore muscles, and the same hacking cough.

    It had started twenty-four hours ago, and they had just figured it was the flu coming back around. There’d been a mini-epidemic of flu that had left a lot of kids feeling bad. But it hadn’t been very dangerous except that it kept some kids immobilized who could have been working.

    Jennifer B—Jennifer Boyles—had been asleep for no more than an hour when she was awakened by a loud, percussive sound close by, not from outside, from the room next to hers.

    She sat up in bed and fought down the woozy, head-swimming feeling. She felt her forehead. Yeah, still hot. Definitely hot.

    Whatever the noise was, forget it, she told herself. Too sick to get up. If something was breaking into the house to kill her, so much the better: she felt rotten.

    Kkkrrraaafff!

    This time the walls seemed to shake. Jennifer B was up and out of her bed before she could think about it. She coughed, paused, then veered toward the door, eyes not quite focused, head pounding.

    In the hallway she found Jennifer L. Jennifer L was coughing, too, and looking as scared as Jennifer B. They were both in sweatpants and T-shirts, both miserable.

    It’s in Jennifer’s room, Jennifer L said. She had her weapon, a lead pipe with a grip bound with black electrical tape.

    Jennifer B was annoyed with herself for having forgotten her own weapon. You didn’t jump out of bed at night in the FAYZ without going armed. She staggered back to her bed and fished out the machete. It was stuck into a canvas scabbard between her mattress and box spring, handle protruding.

    It wasn’t all that sharp, but it looked crazy dangerous and it was. A two-foot-long blade with a cracked wooden grip.

    Jennifer? Jennifer B called at Jennifer H’s room.

    Kkkrrraaafff!

    The door rattled on its hinges. Jennifer B opened the door and stood with her machete at the ready. Jennifer L was right behind her, pipe clenched in nervous hand.

    Jennifer H had always had a fear of the dark so she had a very small Sammy sun in one corner of the room, hovering beneath what had once been a hanging light fixture. The light was green and eerie, more creepy than illuminating. It showed Jennifer H. She wore a flower-print nightgown.

    She was standing up in her bed. She clutched her throat with one hand and held her stomach with the other.

    She looked like she’d seen death.

    Jen, you okay? Jennifer L asked.

    Jennifer H’s eyes bulged. She stared at her two roommates.

    Her stomach convulsed. Her chest heaved. She squeezed her own throat like she was trying to choke herself. Her long, blond hair was wet, sweat-matted, plastered to her face and neck.

    The cough was shockingly loud.

    Kkkrrraaafff!

    Jennifer B felt the explosion of air. And something wet slapped her face.

    She reached her free hand and peeled a small shred of something wet from her cheek. She looked at it, unable to make sense of it. It looked like a piece of raw meat. It felt like chicken skin.

    Kkkrrraaafff!

    The power of the cough threw Jennifer back against the wall.

    Oh, God! she moaned. Oh . . .

    Kkkrrraaafff!

    And this time Jennifer B saw it. Pieces of something wet and raw had flown from Jennifer H’s mouth. She was coughing up parts of her insides.

    KKKRRRAAAAFFF!

    Jennifer H’s entire body convulsed, twisted backward into a crazy C. She crashed into the windowpane. It shattered.

    KKKRRRAAAAFFF!

    The next spasm threw Jennifer H into the wall headfirst. There was a sickening crunch.

    The other two stared at her in horror. She wasn’t moving.

    Jen? Jennifer B called timidly.

    Jen? Jen? Are you okay? Jennifer L asked.

    They crept closer, now holding hands, weapons still at the ready.

    Jennifer H did not answer. Her neck was twisted at a comic angle. Her eyes were open and staring. Seeing nothing. Liquid, black in the eerie light, ran from her mouth and ears.

    The two Jennifers fell back. Jennifer B sank to her knees. Her strength was gone. She let the machete fall from her hand.

    I . . . , she said, but had no second word. She tried to stand but couldn’t.

    We have to get help, Jennifer L said. But she too had sunk to her knees.

    Jennifer L tried to stand but sat down again. Jennifer B crawled back to her room. She wanted to help Jennifer L, she did. But she couldn’t even help herself.

    Jennifer B struggled to push herself up and into her bed. Need help, she thought. Hospital. Lana.

    Some still-functioning part of her delirious mind understood that the best she could hope to accomplish for now was to reach the sanctuary of her bed.

    But finally even that was too much. She lay on the cold wood floor staring up at her bed, at the motionless ceiling fan. With the last of her strength she pulled the mess of dirty sheets and blankets down on top of herself.

    She coughed into the once-soft quilt she’d taken from her mother’s room long ago.

    The thing on Hunter’s shoulder didn’t hurt. But it did distract him. And he couldn’t be distracted when he was hunting Old Lion.

    The mountain lion never bothered Hunter. The mountain lion didn’t want to eat Hunter. Or maybe it did, but it had never tried.

    But Hunter had to kill the mountain lion because Old Lion had stolen too many of Hunter’s own kills. Old Lion crept around behind Hunter after he had taken a deer. Hunter was off chasing other prey and Old Lion had snuck around and dragged off Hunter’s deer.

    Old Lion was just doing what he had to do. It wasn’t personal. Hunter didn’t hate Old Lion. But just the same he couldn’t have the mountain lion running off with the food for the kids.

    Hunter hunted for the kids. That’s what he did. That’s who he was. He was Hunter the hunter. For the kids.

    Old Lion was out of the woods now, over the hill, over where the dry lands started and the rocks grew big. Old Lion was heading home for the night. He had eaten well. Now he was heading back to his lair. He would spend the day lying out on the sun-baked rocks and toasting his bones.

    Hunter walked carefully, weight balanced, light on his feet, quick but not rushing. Dangerous to rush about with nothing but moonlight to show the way.

    He had learned a lot about hunting. The killing power from his hands didn’t reach very far. He had to get close to make it work. That meant he had to really concentrate, which was hard ever since his brain had gotten hurt. He couldn’t concentrate enough to read or remember lots of words. And words still came out of his mouth all messed up. But he could concentrate on this: on swift and quiet walking, on weaving through the red rocks while keeping his eyes peeled for the cat’s faint star-silvered tracks in the little deposits of sand.

    And he had to look out for Old Lion changing his mind and deciding he would like him a tasty boy after all. Old Lion didn’t just steal food, he killed it, too. Hunter had seen him once, his tail flicking, his whiskered jaw juddering, quivering with anticipation as Old Lion watched a stray dog.

    Old Lion had exploded out of cover and crossed one hundred feet in about one second. Like a bullet out of a gun. His big paws had caught the dog before the dog could even flinch. Long, curved claws, fur, blood, a desperate whine from the dog and then, almost leisurely, taking his time, Old Lion had delivered the killing bite to the back of the dog’s neck.

    Old Lion was already a hunter back when Hunter was just a regular kid sitting in class, raising his hand to answer questions and reading and understanding and being smart.

    Old Lion knew all about hunting. But he didn’t know that Hunter was coming after him.

    Hunter smelled the cat. He was close. He smelled of dead meat. Dried blood.

    Hunter was below a tall boulder. He froze, realizing suddenly that Old Lion was right above him. He wanted to run, but he knew that if he backed up, the cat would drop on him. He was safer closer to the rock. Old Lion couldn’t drop straight down.

    Hunter pressed his back against the rock. He stilled his own breathing and heard the big cat’s instead. But Old Lion wasn’t fooled. Old Lion could probably hear the heart pounding in Hunter’s chest.

    The thing on Hunter’s shoulder squirmed. It was growing. Moving. Hunter glanced and could see it move beneath the fabric of his shirt. It seemed almost to be trying to chew a hole through Hunter’s shirt.

    Hunter had no word for the thing. It had grown over the last day. It had started out as a bump, a swelling. But then the skin had split apart and gnashing insect mouthparts had been revealed. Like a spider. Or a bug. Like the bugs that crawled on Hunter as he slept.

    But this thing on his shoulder wasn’t a regular bug. It was too big for that. And it had grown right where the flying snake, the greenie, had dropped its goo on him.

    Hunter strained to think of the word for the thing. It was a word he used to know. Like worms on a dead animal. What was the word? He leaned forward, hands to his head, so mad at himself for not being able to find the word.

    He had lost focus for just a few seconds but it was enough for Old Lion.

    The cat dropped like mercury, liquid.

    Hunter was knocked to the ground. His head banged against the rock. Old Lion had missed his grip, though, and he had to scramble in the narrow space. The cat spun, bared his yellow teeth and leaped, claws outstretched.

    Hunter dodged, but not fast enough. One big paw hit him in the chest and knocked him back against the rock, knocked the wind from him.

    Old Lion was on him, claws on his shoulders, snarling face just inches from Hunter’s vulnerable neck.

    Then, suddenly, the mountain lion hissed and leaped back, like it had landed on a hot stove.

    The lion shook its paw and flung droplets of blood. One claw toe had been badly bitten. It hung by a thread.

    The thing on Hunter’s shoulder had bitten Old Lion.

    Hunter didn’t hesitate. He raised his hands and aimed.

    There was no light. The heat that came from Hunter’s hands was invisible. But instantly the temperature in Old Lion’s head doubled, tripled, and Old Lion, his brain cooked in his skull, fell dead.

    Hunter pulled his shirt back from the shoulder. The insect mouthparts gnashed, chewing on a bloody chunk of the lion.

    THREE

    72 HOURS, 3 MINUTES

    ASTRID HAD FED Little Pete.

    She read a little, perched beside the window, book held at an uncomfortable angle to try and take advantage of the faint moonlight.

    It was slow going.

    It wasn’t a book she’d ever have read back in the old days. She wouldn’t have been caught dead reading some silly teen romance. Back then she’d have read a classic, or some work of great literary merit. Or history.

    Now she needed escape. Now she needed not to be in this world, this terrible world of the FAYZ. Books were the only way out.

    After just a few minutes Astrid set the book aside. Her hands were trembling. Attempt to escape into the book: failed. Attempt to forget her fear: failed. It was all right there, still, right there in front of every other thought.

    Outside, a breeze caused tree branches to scrape the side of the house. A corner of Astrid’s mind noticed, and wondered, but set it aside for more pressing concerns.

    She wondered where Sam was. What he was doing. Whether he was longing for her as she longed for him.

    Yes, yes, she wanted him. She wanted to be in his arms. She wanted to kiss him. And maybe more. Maybe a lot more.

    All of it, all the things he wanted she wanted, too.

    Stupid jerk, didn’t he get that? Was he so clueless he didn’t know that she wanted it all, too?

    But she wasn’t Sam. Astrid didn’t act on impulse. Astrid thought things through. Astrid the Genius, always so irritatingly in control. That was the word he’d thrown at her: control.

    How could Sam not realize that if they crossed that line it would be one more sin? One more abandonment of her faith. One more surrender to weakness.

    There had been too many of those. It was like little pieces of Astrid’s soul were flaking off, falling away. Some pieces not so small.

    Her self-control had crumbled so swiftly it was almost comic. After all the temptations and provocations, the calm, civilized, rational girl had evaporated like a bead of water on a hot skillet, sizzle, sizzle, all gone. And what had emerged then had been pure violence.

    She had tried to kill Nerezza. In screaming, out-of-control rage. The memory of it made her sick.

    And that wasn’t all of it. She had wanted Sam to burn Drake to ashes even if it meant murdering Brittney as well.

    Astrid couldn’t be that person. She had to put herself back together. She had to take time to rebuild herself. She was afraid she would shatter. Like a glass sculpture, chip chip chip away and all at once it would shatter into a thousand pieces.

    And yet, a cool, calculating part of her knew she could not alienate Sam too much. Because it was only a matter of time before everyone else figured out that there was a way out of the FAYZ.

    The exit door was right in front of them. Lying just a few feet from Astrid.

    A simple act of murder . . .

    Others had seen what Astrid had seen on that cliff, when Little Pete’s mind had blanked out, overwhelmed by the loss of his stupid toy game.

    A simple act of murder . . .

    She sat beside her motionless brother. She ought to brush his teeth. Ought to change his pajamas. Ought to . . .

    His forehead was damp.

    Astrid put her hand to his head. He’d been hot all night, but this was worse. She pushed the button on the thermometer by the bed, waited for it to zero out, and stuck it under Little Pete’s tongue.

    She felt a cool breeze in the room. Her eyes went instantly to the window. It was open wide. Pushed all the way up.

    There was no question: it had been closed. She’d been sitting beside it. It had been locked. And now it was open.

    And for the first time since the coming of the FAYZ, a cool breeze blew into the room and wafted over the damp forehead of the most powerful person in this little universe.

    Drake felt the Darkness touch his mind. He shivered with pleasure.

    It was still out there, Drake was sure of it. Still calling to him, to Drake, the faithful one, the one who would never turn against the Darkness.

    Drake cracked his whip hand just to hear the sonic-boom snap of it. And to let Orc hear it, too.

    Hey, Orc! Come down here so I can whip that little patch of skin off you! Drake demanded.

    Drake Merwin could see a little by the light of the tiny, dim Sammy sun. He hated that light—he knew where it had come from, and what it represented: Sam’s power, that dangerous light of his.

    Drake remembered the pain of that light. He’d been on his back, helpless. And Sam, his face a mask of rage, glorying in his moment of revenge, had burned off Drake’s legs and was working his way methodically up Drake’s torso.

    Then that stupid little pig Brittney had emerged.

    Drake didn’t know what happened next, he couldn’t see or hear when Brittney was in control. All he knew was that Sam hadn’t vaporized him. And here he was, trapped. Locked in this basement listening to Orc’s heavy tread upstairs.

    Drake didn’t know what had happened to make him this way, to cause him to share a body with Brittney. Much of recent life was a mystery. He remembered Caine turning

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