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Gaia was having a bad morning after a very bad night.
She couldn’t win a battle when she had to pull her punches. Which meant that her course was clear: She had to attack Perdido Beach and get the major killing done with. Then she could take her time torturing the defiance out of Caine and finally deal with the eternally troublesome Sam Temple.
In the meantime, she needed a game changer.
She saw a thin spiral of smoke rise from the dead tree Sam’s light had touched.
Well, why not? Fire. Yes, perfect. Fire would drive everyone toward Perdido Beach. And it might cover her rear from a sneak attack.
Gaia raised her hands above the cover provided by the fallen tree and began to fire randomly, long, sustained bursts hitting a forest that had experienced no rain since the coming of the FAYZ.
Then Gaia fled, pursued by smoke as fire took hold in the Stefano Rey National Park.
SEVENTEEN
29 HOURS, 24 MINUTES
ASTRID, DIANA, AND Orc arrived in Perdido Beach at the head of a strung-out procession of exhausted kids, an hour behind Dekka and Jack. Most collapsed upon reaching the town plaza, just dropped where they were.
Edilio had already checked with the wounded at Clifftop. Now, with barely controlled panic, he raced to each person, looking into each face.
“Have you seen Roger?”
Most didn’t answer. Edilio wasn’t sure they even heard him. But one little said, “His boat got burned up.”
“Did you see him, though? Did you see him?”
Head shake. No.
Edilio’s heart ached. No way Roger had been killed. That wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right. He and Roger had just, finally, been able to acknowledge how they felt about each other, how they had felt for secretive months.
Edilio’s searching eyes met Astrid’s.
She didn’t need to hear his question. “We didn’t see him, Edilio. Jack rowed around the boats . . . there were bodies in the water. Roger and Justin were probably both on their boat. It was cut in half, burned.”
“But you didn’t . . . Did you bury . . .” He couldn’t finish the thought.
“Listen, Brianna kept Gaia from finishing us all off, but we couldn’t stay there. We had to run. We had wounded kids. Everyone was scared; we couldn’t stay and search.”
Edilio nodded dully. He had to put this reality in a box, like he had done so many times with so many tragedies.
But this was too big: it wouldn’t go; it couldn’t be put aside for quiet grief at a more convenient time. A sound of anguish rose from Edilio. Astrid put her arms around him, and he cried into her hair.
“I should have been there,” Edilio whispered.
“You couldn’t have stopped her,” Astrid said. “Did Brianna and Dekka and the rest make it here?”
Edilio pulled away, wiping tears from his cheeks. “Brianna’s hurt bad, but she’s alive. Her and Dekka are up at Clifftop.”
“Don’t ever let me say anything bad about that girl again,” Astrid said. “Everyone who made it out alive owes their life to Brianna. Edilio, it was . . . Gaia would have . . . She was enjoying it . . . floating kids into the air and then . . .”
Edilio nodded bleakly. “What do we do now, Astrid? Did you see Sam? He should be here, but I . . . didn’t work. It’s my fault.”
“Edilio, nothing is your fault.” Astrid called Diana over. Orc had taken it upon himself to fetch water in a big five-gallon plastic tub. Kids were drinking greedily while Orc watched in satisfaction.
“Listen to me, Edilio.” Astrid took his face in her hands, forced him to see, to pay attention. “We don’t have time to grieve. There are things you need to understand.”
Edilio nodded, but he wasn’t there: he wasn’t tracking.
