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If he couldn’t catch Sam out here in the open, then he would beat him to Perdido Beach. He would be waiting when Sam got there. Waiting with whip wrapped around Astrid.
His mind flooded with pictures, lovely pictures of Sam helpless under his whip. And yet he would not kill Sam Temple, no, not until Sam had watched him reduce Astrid to a hideous skinless monster.
The vision was so clear in his head, so wonderful, it filled him with light and joy and a pleasure he could not even describe.
Nemesis!
“I’ll get your Nemesis,” Drake muttered. “But first . . .”
Drake’s army rushed at breakneck speed away from the lake, scampering up the long slope that led from the lake to the dry lands beyond.
He felt a wave of fury directed at him. A wave of rage that shook him to his core. The dark tendril was wrapped around his brain, filling his thoughts, demanding, threatening. Nemesis!
“No!” Drake shouted.
The reaction was immediate. The swarm stopped dead in its tracks.
“They’re my army. My army!” Drake bellowed. His own hatreds were too strong to be denied. And he might even have defied the gaiaphage. But as Drake stood agonizing, hatred contending with fear, he lost the ability to make the decision.
The choice of whether to pursue Nemesis or terrorize Per-dido Beach would be Brittney’s to make.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
1 HOUR, 39 MINUTES
SAM HOBBLED ALONG more quickly than he had hoped. He leaned on Toto and benefited as well from Dekka walking behind him and lessening gravity beneath them.
He felt low. All the lower because he’d actually managed just a little bit of hope earlier. He’d actually allowed himself to believe that things might be better now that they’d found the lake and the train.
But this was the FAYZ. And just because they were due for some good news didn’t mean any was coming. In the space of a very few hours he had gone from the heights of optimism to utter despair.
Over and over again in his mind he played out the likely scenarios. Edilio would have his guys, plus Brianna, Taylor, hopefully Orc. If Jack reached town in time he would fight as well; Jack had really stepped up.
But it wasn’t enough. Even if he and Dekka were there, it might not be enough. So instead of saving the town and showing them salvation in the form of water, noodles, and Nutella, Sam knew he would arrive back at a town devastated.
Some were sure to survive. Surely, some.
Maybe Little Pete would save Astrid. He had the power. But was he aware? Did any of this penetrate to wherever his mind was?
“Do you think he’ll do it?” Dekka asked. “Jack, I mean.”
“No,” Sam said.
“No,” Dekka agreed.
“True,” Toto said, although whether he was agreeing with them or just automatically certifying that they believed what they were saying, Sam could not say.
“He’s not that guy,” Sam said. “He’s not ruthless. Anyway, what are the odds he could even get to town and find Little Pete? And then, who knows if even that would shock Pete into doing anything.”
“You would do it, Sam.”
“Yeah. I would do it,” Sam said.
“He would,” Toto agreed.
“It’s your gift, Sam,” Dekka said. “It has been right from the start.”
“Ruthlessness?”
