sam-temple

Man, sometimes you are clueless. You don__ even see what__ happening._ He perched himself on the arm of the couch so he could look down at Turk. __t__ not just about freaks. I mean, you__e the guy who thinks of ideas and all, but you__e missing it. You don__ even notice that the whole council is either black or Mexican. See, that__ what__ happening: it__ all these minorities hooked up with freaks.__he wheels in Turk__ mind began to turn slowly. But they were picking up speed. __amal__ with us and he__ black.___o? We use Jamal. He gets us into Albert__. You do what you gotta do. All I__ saying is, you and me, we__e normal people. We__e not black or queer or Mexican. And we__e the ones digging toilets. How come?__urk knew the answer: because they had failed in their attempt to take over. But he__ never thought about this new angle.__strid__ a normal white person,_ Turk argued halfheartedly. __o__ Sam.___am__ a freak, and I think he might even be a Jew,_ Lance said. His eyes were glittering. He was showing his teeth, grinning as he talked. It wasn__ a good look for him. __nd Astrid? She__ not even on the council anymore.

Sam Temple was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Los Angeles, where there were specialists there in burn injuries. He wasn__ consulted: he was found on his knees, obviously in shock, extensively burned. EMTs took over.Astrid Ellison was taken to a hospital in Santa Barbara, as was Diana Ladris.Other kids were shared out among half a dozen hospitals. Some specialized in plastic surgery, others in the effects of starvation.Over the next week all were seen by psychiatrists once their immediate physical injuries were addressed. Lots of psychiatrists. And when they weren__ being seen by psychiatrists, they were being seen by FBI agents, and California Highway Patrol investigators, and lawyers from the district attorney__ office.The consensus seemed to be that a number of the Perdido survivors, as they were now known, would be prosecuted for crimes ranging from simple assault to murder.First on that list was Sam Temple.

And he thought of the two people who had held his job before him: Sam and Astrid. Both beaten into despair by trying to hold this group of kids together in the face of one disaster after another. Both of them now happy to let Edilio handle it.__o wonder,_ Edilio muttered.__tay inside unless absolutely necessary,_ Edilio shouted, and not for the first or last time wished he was still just Sam__ faithful sidekick.

Sam was stiff and tired. He crept onto the houseboat, careful not to wake anyone, and sidled down the narrow passage to his bunk. The shades were drawn and of course there were no lights, so he felt his way to the edge of his bed and crawled across it on hands and knees to find his pillow.He collapsed on his back.But even at the edge of sleep he was aware of something different about the bed.Then he felt soft breath on his cheek.He turned and her lips were on his. Not gentle. Not soft. She kissed him hard, and it was like he__ been awakened by an electric power line.She kissed him and slid on top of him.Their bodies did the rest.At some point in the hours that followed he said, __strid?___on__ you think you should have made sure of that about three times ago?_ Astrid said in her familiar, slightly condescending tone.They said many things to each other after that, but nothing that involved words.

...you have me,_ Astrid said.__o I?___es.__hat drained the anger and frustration from him like someone had pulled a plug. For a long moment he was lost, gazing into her eyes. She was very close. His heart shifted to a deeper rhythm that vibrated his whole body.There were just inches between them. He closed the distance by half, stopped.__ can__ kiss you with your little brother watching,_ he said.Astrid stepped back, took Little Pete by the shoulders, and turned him so he was facing away.__ow about now?

The news networks and the local TV stations all led with the same footage. An obviously moved, very pretty young woman with blond hair and alert blue eyes looking up. Eyes widening. Stumbling a little as she pushed back her chair and went around the table.Shaky cameras turning too fast, following her as she ran to a boy at the back of the room who pushed through the press of people to reach her.The embrace.The kiss that went on for a very long time.

He reached over and took Taylor__ 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__ 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.__orry, 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. __ome see me when you get tired of mooning over the ice princess, Sam.

It__ time,_ Jack said.__reeze? Count the kids,_ Sam said.Brianna was back in twenty seconds. __ighty-two, boss.___bout a third,_ Jack observed. __ third of what__ left.___ait. Make that eighty-eight,_ Brianna said. __nd a dog.__ana, looking deeply irritated__ fairly usual expression for her__nd Sanjit, looking happy__ fairly usual expression for him__nd Sanjit__ siblings were trotting along to catch up.__ don__ know if we__e staying up there or not,_ Lana said without preamble. __ want to check it out. And my room smells like crap.__ust before the time was up, Sam heard a stir. Kids were making a lane for someone, murmuring. His heart leaped.__ey, Sam.__e swallowed the lump in his throat. __iana?___ot expecting me, huh?_ She made a wry face. __here__ blondie? I didn__ see her at the big pep rally.___re you coming with us?_ Brianna demanded, obviously not happy about it.__s Caine okay with this?_ Sam asked Diana. __t__ your choice, but I need to know if he__ going to come after us to take you back.___aine has what he wants,_ Diana said.__aybe I should call Toto over,_ Sam said. The truth teller was having a conversation with Spidey. __ could ask you whether you__e coming along to spy for Caine, and see what Toto has to say.__iana sighed. __am, I have bigger problems than Caine. And so do you, I guess. Because the FAYZ is going to do something it__ never done before: grow by one.___hat__ that mean?___ou are going to be an uncle.__am stared blankly. Brianna said a very rude word. And even Dekka looked up.__ou__e having a baby?_ Dekka asked.__et__ hope so,_ Diana said bleakly. __et__ hope that__ all it is.

Astrid had gone to look at the burn zone. Doing the right thing.Kids had yelled at her. Demanded to know why she had let it happen. Demanded to know where Sam was. Deluged her with complaints and worries and crazy theories until she had retreated.She__ hidden out after that. She__ refused to answer the door when kids knocked. She had not gone to her office. It would be the same there.But through the day it had eaten at her. This feeling of uselessness. A feeling of uselessness made so much worse by the growing realization that she needed Sam. Not because they were up against some threat. The threat was mostly past now.She needed Sam because no one had any respect for her. There was only one person right now who could get a crowd of anxious kids to settle down and do what needed to be done.She had wanted to believe that she could do that. But she had tried. And they hadn__ listened.But Sam was still nowhere to be seen. So despite everything it was still on her shoulders. The thought of it made her sick. It made her want to scream.

They closed the door on the cabin. There wasn__ room enough for them to stand, so they fell into each other__ arms on the bunk.Sam kissed her and tried not to think that it was for the last time.He was happy. That was the hell of it. He was finally happy. Right here, right now, in this place, with this girl in his arms, he was happy. Was that why he felt the hammer about to fall on him? No, that was crazy. He was happy. Happiness didn__ mean that tragedy was coming around the corner. Did it?

Sam, I know you__e upset over what happened with you and Drake,_ Astrid began.__pset?_ Sam echoed the word with an ironic smirk.__ut that__ no excuse for you keeping secrets from us.___eah,_ Howard said, __on__ you know only Astrid is allowed to keep secrets?___hut up, Howard,_ Astrid snapped.__eah, we get to lie because we__e the smart ones,_ Howard said. __ot like all those idiots out there.__strid turned her attention back to Sam. __his is not okay, Sam. The council has the responsibility. Not you alone.__am looked like he could not care less about what she was saying. He looked almost beyond reach, indifferent to what was going on around him.__ey,_ Astrid said. __e__e talking to you.__hat did it. His jaw clenched. His head snapped up. His eyes blazed. __on__ push me. That wasn__ you with your skin whipped off and covered in blood. That was me. That was me who went down into that mine shaft to try to fight the gaiaphage.__strid blinked. __o one is minimizing what you__e done, Sam. You__e a hero. But at the same time___am was on his feet. __t the same time? At the same time you were here in town. Edilio had a bullet in his chest. Dekka was torn to pieces. I was trying not to scream from the_You and Albert and Howard, you weren__ there, were you?___ was busy standing up to Zil, trying to save Hunter__ life,_ Astrid yelled.__ut it wasn__ you and your big words, was it? It was Orc who stopped Zil. And he was there because I sent him to rescue you. Me!_ He stabbed a finger at his own chest, actually making what looked like painful impact. __e! Me and Brianna and Dekka and Edilio! And poor Duck.

Guys, he__ hurt bad.__he blonde scrambled to him. She tore the wounded boy__ shirt open. A river of blood ran down his chest.__h, God, no,_ the blonde cried.Lana pushed her aside and laid a hand against the pumping wound. __e__l live,_ Lana said. ____l fix him.___hat do you mean, you__l fix him?_ the blonde demanded. __e need stitches, we need a doctor. Look at how he__ bleeding.__ana said, __hat__ your name?___strid, what does it matter? He___ She stopped talking then and leaned in close to see. __he bloodflow is slowing.___eah. I noticed that, too,_ Lana said dryly. __elax. He__l be fine. In fact_ She tilted her head to get a better look at him. __n fact, I__l bet when he__ not covered in blood, he__ cute. Your boyfriend?___hat__ not what it__ about,_ Astrid snapped. Then, in a low voice, like she didn__ want the others to hear, she said, __ind of.

Mother Mary wants to draft two more kids,_ Astrid told Sam.__kay. Approved.___ahra says we__e running low on kids_ Tylenol and kids_ Advil, she wants to make sure it__ okay to start giving them split adult pills.__am spread his hands in a helpless gesture. __hat?___e__e running low on kid pills, Dahra wants to split adult pills.__am rocked back in the leather chair designed for a grown man. __kay. Whatever. Approved._ He took a sip of water from a bottle. The wrapper on the bottle said __asani_ but it was tap water. The dishes from dinner__orrible homemade split-pea soup that smelled burned, and a quarter cabbage each__ad been pushed aside onto the sideboard where in the old days the mayor of Perdido Beach had kept framed pictures of his family. It was one of the better meals Sam had had lately. The fresh cabbage tasted surprisingly good.There was little more than smears on the plates: the era of kids not eating everything was over.Astrid puffed out her cheeks and sighed. __ids are asking why Lana isn__ around when they need her.___ can only ask Lana to heal big things. I can__ demand she be around 24/7 to handle every boo-boo.__strid looked at the list she had compiled on her laptop. __ctually, I think this involved a stubbed toe that __urted.____ow much more is on the list?_ Sam asked.__hree hundred and five items,_ Astrid said. When Sam__ face went pale, she relented. __kay, it__ actually just thirty-two. Now, don__ you feel relieved it__ not really three hundred?___his is crazy,_ Sam said.__ext up: the Judsons and the McHanrahans are fighting because they share a dog, so both families are feeding her__hey still have a big bag of dry dog food__ut the Judsons are calling her Sweetie and the McHanrahans are calling her BooBoo.___ou__e kidding._____ not kidding,_ Astrid said.__hat is that noise?_ Sam demanded.Astrid shrugged. __ guess someone has their stereo cranked up.___his is not going to work, Astrid.___he music?___his. This thing where every day I have a hundred stupid questions I have to decide. Like I__ everyone__ parent now. I__ sitting here listening to how little kids are complaining because their older sisters make them take a bath, and stepping into fights over who owns which Build-A-Bear outfit, and now over dog names. Dog names?___hey__e all still just little kids,_ Astrid said.__ome of these kids are developing powers that scare me,_ Sam grumbled. __ut they can__ decide who gets to have which special towel? Or whether to watch The Little Mermaid or Shrek Three?___o,_ Astrid said. __hey can__. They need a parent. That__ you.

Drake's whip hand spun Diana like a top.She cried out. That sound, her cry, pierced Caine like an arrow.Diana staggered and almost righted herself, but Drake was too quick, too ready.His second strike yanked her through the air. She flew and then fell.__atch her!_ Caine was yelling to himself. Seeing her arc as she fell. Seeing where she would hit. His hands came up, he could use his power, he could catch her, save her. But too slow.Diana fell. Her head smashed against a jutting point of rock. She made a sound like a dropped pumpkin.Caine froze.The fuel rod, forgotten, fell from the air with a shattering crash.It fell within ten feet of the mine shaft opening. It landed atop a boulder shaped like the prow of a ship.It bent, cracked, rolled off the boulder, and crashed heavily in the dirt.Drake ran straight at Caine, his whip snapping. But Jack stumbled in between them, yelling, __he uranium! The uranium!__he radiation meter in his pocket was counting clicks so fast, it became a scream.Drake piled into Jack, and the two of them went tumbling.Caine stood, staring in horror at Diana. Diana did not move. Did not move. No snarky remark. No smart-ass joke.__o!_ Caine cried.__o!__rake was up, disentangling himself with an angry curse from Jack.__iana,_ Caine sobbed.Drake didn__ rely on his whip hand now, too far away to use it before Caine could take him down. He raised his gun. The barrel shot flame and slugs, BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM.Inaccurate, but on full automatic, Drake had time. He swung the gun to his right and the bullets swooped toward where Caine stood like he was made of stone.Then the muzzle flash disappeared in an explosion of green-white light that turned night into day. The shaft of light missed its target. But it was close enough that the muzzle of Drake__ gun wilted and drooped and the rocks behind Drake cracked from the blast of heat.Drake dropped the gun. And now it was Drake__ turn to stare in stark amazement. __ou!__am wobbled atop the rise. Quinn caught him as he staggered.Now Caine snapped back to the present, seeing his brother, seeing the killing light.__o,_ Caine said. __o, Sam: He__ mine.__e raised a hand, and Sam went flying backward along with Quinn.__he fuel rod!_ Jack was yelling, over and over. __t__ going to kill us all. Oh, God, we may already be dead!__rake rushed at Caine. His eyes were wide with fear. Knowing he wouldn__ make it. Knowing he was not fast enough.Caine raised his hand, and the fuel rod seemed to jump off the ground.A javelin.A spear. He held it poised. Pointed straight at Drake.Caine reached with his other hand, extending the telekinetic power to hold Drake immobilized.Drake held up his human hand, a placating gesture. __aine_you don__ want to_not over some girl. She was a witch, she was__rake, unable to run, a human target. The fuel rod aimed at him like a Spartan__ spear.Caine threw the fuel rod. Tons of steel and lead and uranium.Straight at Drake.

Brianna! Is Sam okay?_ Astrid cried.__o. Drake tore him up._ She wanted to sound tough, but the sobs came bubbling up and overtook her. __h, God, Astrid, he__ hurt so bad.__strid gasped and covered her hand with her mouth. Brianna put her arms around Astrid and sobbed into her hair.__s he going to die?_ Astrid asked, voice wobbly.__o, I don__ think so,_ Brianna said. She stood back and wiped her tears. __ gave him something for the pain. But he__ messed up, Astrid.

Help me,_ the girl pleaded softly.Sam knelt beside her. He recoiled in shock. __ette?__he left side of Bouncing Bette__ face was covered in blood. There was a gash above her temple. She was panting, gasping, like she had collapsed after a marathon and was trying with her last ounce of energy to crawl across the finish line.__ette, what happened?___hey__e trying to get me,_ Bette cried, and clutched at Sam__ arm.The three dark figures advanced to the edge of the circle of light. One was clearly Orc. No one else was that big. Edilio and Quinn moved into the garage doorway.Sam disengaged from Bette and took up a position beside Edilio.__ou want me to beat on you guys, I will!_ Orc yelled.__hat__ going on here?_ Sam demanded. He narrowed his eyes and recognized the other two boys, a kid named Karl, a seventh grader from school, and Chaz, one of the Coates eighth graders. All three were armed with aluminum bats.__his isn__ your business,_ Chaz said. __e__e dealing with something here.___ealing with what? Orc, did you hit Bette?___he was breaking the rules,_ Orc said.__ou hit a girl, man?_ Edilio said, outraged.__hut up, wetback,_ Orc said.__here__ Howard?_ Sam asked, just to stall while he tried to figure out what to do. He__ lost one fight to Orc already.Orc took the question as an insult. __ don__ need Howard to handle you, Sam.__rc marched right up to Sam, stopped a foot away, and put his bat on his shoulder like he was ready to swing for a home run. Like a batter ready for the next fastball. Only this was closer to T-ball: Sam__ head was impossible to miss.__ove, Sam,_ Orc ordered.__kay, I__ not doing this again,_ Quinn said. __et him have her, Sam.___in__ no __et me,__ Orc said. __ do what I want.__am noticed movement behind Orc. There were people coming down the street, twenty or more kids. Orc noticed it too, and glanced behind him.__hey aren__ going to save you,_ Orc said, and swung the bat hard.Sam ducked. The bat whooshed past his head, and Orc rotated halfway around, carried forward by the momentum.Sam was thrown off balance, but Edilio was ready. He let loose a roar and plowed headfirst into Orc. Edilio was maybe half Orc__ size, but Orc was knocked off his feet. He sprawled out on the concrete.Chaz went after Edilio, trying to pull him off Orc.The crowd of kids who had come running down the street surged forward. There were angry voices and threats, all aimed at Orc.They yelled, Sam noted, but no one exactly jumped into the unequal fight.

Sam, can you, you know, like burn that concrete off her hands?___o. I can__ aim that precisely.___ don__ even know what can be done,_ Edilio said as he fed the girl another microscopic bite of food. __ou try and break that stuff off with a sledge hammer or something, or even a hammer and a chisel, it__ going to really hurt. Probably break every bone in her hands, man.___ho would have done this to her?_ Lana wondered.__hat__ a Coates Academy uniform,_ Astrid answered. __e__e probably not far from there.

You weren__ going to tell us about Orsay?___ didn__ say I____ou don__ get to decide that, Sam. You__e not the only one in charge anymore. Okay?__strid had an icy sort of anger. A cold fury that manifested itself in tight lips and blazing eyes and short, carefully enunciated sentences.__ut it__ okay for all of us to lie to everyone in Perdido Beach?_ Sam shot back.__e__e trying to keep kids from killing themselves,_ Astrid said. __hat__ a little different from you just deciding not to tell the council that there__ a crazy girl telling people to kill themselves.___o not telling you something is a major sin, but lying to a couple of hundred people and trashing Orsay at the same time, that__ fine?