Bug, the chameleon.
Bug.
The power plant.
Sam jumped out of bed like he’d been shot from a cannon.
He pulled on jeans and searched frantically for his shoes under the bed. He slipped them on and ran to Astrid’s room. He didn’t knock, just threw open the door.
She was asleep, a tangle of blond hair on a pillow.
“Astrid. Wake up.”
She didn’t move, so he took her bare shoulder, feeling an illicit thrill despite his frenzy. “Wake up.”
Blue eyes snapped open. “What? Is it Petey again?”
He was suddenly extremely aware of the fact that he had never been in her bedroom before. But this was not the time.
“Bug. He took the Junior Mints.”
She stared at him. “You woke me up for that?”
“At the power plant. Alton and Dalton. They were both telling the truth. Neither of them took the candy, or Josh, either. Someone else was there. Someone they didn’t see.”
“Why would Bug be at the power plant?” Astrid wondered. Then her eyes widened as she understood.
“Because I’m an idiot, that’s why,” Sam said angrily. “I have to get Edilio. You’re in charge till I get back.”
“You may be wrong,” Astrid said.
He was already on his way out. He pounded down the stairs and out into the frosty night air. He found Edilio at the firehouse, where he stayed most nights.
“Who’s on guard at the plant?” Sam asked Edilio after he’d shaken him out of a sound sleep.
“Josh, Brittney D, um, Mickey, and Mike Farmer.”
“Mike’s solid,” Sam said. “The other three?”
Edilio shrugged. “Man, I work with what I got. Mickey’s the one who was playing around with a gun and shot a hole in the floor of his house, killed the washing machine in the basement. Brittney may be cool. She’s motivated. Josh? I don’t know, man.”
They piled into the Jeep. It took them an hour of crisscrossing the town before they had rounded up Dekka, Brianna, Taylor, Orc, and a handful of Edilio’s soldiers. They added a sedan and a giant Escalade to the convoy. Orc snoozed in the back of the Escalade.
They had ten kids in the three vehicles. They paused in front of the town hall. Sam stood on the sidewalk, where he could be heard by everyone.
“I’m sorry to drag you all out of your warm beds, but I think Caine is going to make a move on the power plant,” he said.
“Let me run out there and warn them,” Brianna begged.
“If you run ten miles at high speed you’ll be dead on your feet. Hungry as you are?”
“Man, the Breeze can do ten miles in, like, a minute.” She snapped her fingers.
Sam hesitated. It was true. Brianna could get there long before any of them. It was also true she’d be exhausted by it. He’d seen her when she had done those kind of distances. She wasn’t just worn out by it, she’d looked close to death.
“Go. But stay out of trouble.” The last four words were said to a whoosh of air.
He was probably overreacting, Sam told himself. Missing Junior Mints was not a very good reason to panic. He was going to look like an idiot.
But his instincts told him he was right. He was right because if he were Caine, that’s what he would have done.
He should have seen it. He should have seen it and been prepared. Just like he should have been prepared for the raid on Ralph’s.
They drove away from the plaza. Past the graveyard Edilio had built, the one with far too many gravestones. Past the burned apartment building, the damaged preschool, the half-destroyed church.
Sam told himself he’d been running as fast as he could, just keeping up with trivia, and trying to deal with the threat of starvation. It didn’t help. If Caine was after the power plant. . . .
They drove two blocks more, and suddenly, right in the middle of the dark street, caught in the headlights, was Zil, running and waving his arms like a crazy person.
“What do I do?” Edilio asked.
Sam cursed under his breath. “Pull over. Let’s see what it is.”
Edilio hit the brakes. Zil rushed over, breathless, panting, flushed. He leaned on the window as Sam rolled it down. “It’s Hunter, man. The freak killed Harry.”
Dekka made a sort of growling noise in her throat that made Zil take a step back. But he wasn’t apologizing. “That’s right, he’s a freak. One of you people. And he used his freak powers to kill Harry. For nothing.”
“Have you found Lana?” Edilio asked.
“I don’t know where she is.”
“Funny how you don’t call the Healer a freak,” Dekka pointed out.
“Lana’s at Clifftop,” Sam said. “Great. Now I really could use Brianna. Okay, we’re going to have to hope I’m just being paranoid about the power plant. Edilio, drop me at Hunter and Zil’s place. Tell your crew to head back to the plaza, hang around there, wait for us. Then you’ll have to head up to Clifftop and see if you can find Lana. All right?”
“Yep.”
“Dekka, why don’t you stay with me to see what this is about.”
“I’m going to go get some other normals,” Zil said. “Normals gotta know what’s happening.”
Sam pointed his finger out of the window at him. “You’re going to run around waking people up out of a sound sleep? No. You come with us.”
“No way, man. You and Dekka? You’re both freaks. Freaks always back each other up.”
Bug.
The power plant.
Sam jumped out of bed like he’d been shot from a cannon.
He pulled on jeans and searched frantically for his shoes under the bed. He slipped them on and ran to Astrid’s room. He didn’t knock, just threw open the door.
She was asleep, a tangle of blond hair on a pillow.
“Astrid. Wake up.”
She didn’t move, so he took her bare shoulder, feeling an illicit thrill despite his frenzy. “Wake up.”
Blue eyes snapped open. “What? Is it Petey again?”
He was suddenly extremely aware of the fact that he had never been in her bedroom before. But this was not the time.
“Bug. He took the Junior Mints.”
She stared at him. “You woke me up for that?”
“At the power plant. Alton and Dalton. They were both telling the truth. Neither of them took the candy, or Josh, either. Someone else was there. Someone they didn’t see.”
“Why would Bug be at the power plant?” Astrid wondered. Then her eyes widened as she understood.
“Because I’m an idiot, that’s why,” Sam said angrily. “I have to get Edilio. You’re in charge till I get back.”
“You may be wrong,” Astrid said.
He was already on his way out. He pounded down the stairs and out into the frosty night air. He found Edilio at the firehouse, where he stayed most nights.
“Who’s on guard at the plant?” Sam asked Edilio after he’d shaken him out of a sound sleep.
“Josh, Brittney D, um, Mickey, and Mike Farmer.”
“Mike’s solid,” Sam said. “The other three?”
Edilio shrugged. “Man, I work with what I got. Mickey’s the one who was playing around with a gun and shot a hole in the floor of his house, killed the washing machine in the basement. Brittney may be cool. She’s motivated. Josh? I don’t know, man.”
They piled into the Jeep. It took them an hour of crisscrossing the town before they had rounded up Dekka, Brianna, Taylor, Orc, and a handful of Edilio’s soldiers. They added a sedan and a giant Escalade to the convoy. Orc snoozed in the back of the Escalade.
They had ten kids in the three vehicles. They paused in front of the town hall. Sam stood on the sidewalk, where he could be heard by everyone.
“I’m sorry to drag you all out of your warm beds, but I think Caine is going to make a move on the power plant,” he said.
“Let me run out there and warn them,” Brianna begged.
“If you run ten miles at high speed you’ll be dead on your feet. Hungry as you are?”
“Man, the Breeze can do ten miles in, like, a minute.” She snapped her fingers.
Sam hesitated. It was true. Brianna could get there long before any of them. It was also true she’d be exhausted by it. He’d seen her when she had done those kind of distances. She wasn’t just worn out by it, she’d looked close to death.
“Go. But stay out of trouble.” The last four words were said to a whoosh of air.
He was probably overreacting, Sam told himself. Missing Junior Mints was not a very good reason to panic. He was going to look like an idiot.
But his instincts told him he was right. He was right because if he were Caine, that’s what he would have done.
He should have seen it. He should have seen it and been prepared. Just like he should have been prepared for the raid on Ralph’s.
They drove away from the plaza. Past the graveyard Edilio had built, the one with far too many gravestones. Past the burned apartment building, the damaged preschool, the half-destroyed church.
Sam told himself he’d been running as fast as he could, just keeping up with trivia, and trying to deal with the threat of starvation. It didn’t help. If Caine was after the power plant. . . .
They drove two blocks more, and suddenly, right in the middle of the dark street, caught in the headlights, was Zil, running and waving his arms like a crazy person.
“What do I do?” Edilio asked.
Sam cursed under his breath. “Pull over. Let’s see what it is.”
Edilio hit the brakes. Zil rushed over, breathless, panting, flushed. He leaned on the window as Sam rolled it down. “It’s Hunter, man. The freak killed Harry.”
Dekka made a sort of growling noise in her throat that made Zil take a step back. But he wasn’t apologizing. “That’s right, he’s a freak. One of you people. And he used his freak powers to kill Harry. For nothing.”
“Have you found Lana?” Edilio asked.
“I don’t know where she is.”
“Funny how you don’t call the Healer a freak,” Dekka pointed out.
“Lana’s at Clifftop,” Sam said. “Great. Now I really could use Brianna. Okay, we’re going to have to hope I’m just being paranoid about the power plant. Edilio, drop me at Hunter and Zil’s place. Tell your crew to head back to the plaza, hang around there, wait for us. Then you’ll have to head up to Clifftop and see if you can find Lana. All right?”
“Yep.”
“Dekka, why don’t you stay with me to see what this is about.”
“I’m going to go get some other normals,” Zil said. “Normals gotta know what’s happening.”
Sam pointed his finger out of the window at him. “You’re going to run around waking people up out of a sound sleep? No. You come with us.”
“No way, man. You and Dekka? You’re both freaks. Freaks always back each other up.”
