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.
Chapter 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.
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.
Chapter 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.
