Fear (A Gone Novel)

Twenty-Eight

10 HOURS, 35 MINUTES

"THAT'S THE BEST I can do," Roger said. The lower half of his face and the front of his shirt were covered with blood. The deck was smeared with it.

Sam looked down at Jack, covered with a blanket. They couldn't move him. They couldn't really do much for him unless they found a way to bring Lana to him.

Roger had started with green thread. At first that was all anyone could find. That was what he had used to sew up the artery or vein or whatever it was that lay slit and exposed by the angry slash in Jack's neck.

The outer part of the wound was sewn up with white thread, though formerly white was more like it. It was red now.

They had smeared a little of their precious stock of Neosporin on the wound and covered it with a bandage torn from an old flag. Jack's neck was red, white, and blue, though the bandage was soaking through with seeping blood as well.

Roger was the unofficial nurse. Mostly because he seemed nice and was good with kids. He had taken on the job of sewing up Jack's neck.

He'd said it was like trying to sew a piece of pasta. A piece of pasta that pulsed and sprayed blood.

"Thanks, Roger," Sam said. "You absolutely stepped up, dude."

"He's so pale," Roger said. "Like a piece of chalk."

Sam had nothing to say about that. Lana could save Jack. But she was far away, and soon there would be almost no way to even contact her.

Where was that little bimbo Taylor? They needed her.

He had stopped being mad at Brianna, because now he was just too worried about her. If she was out there running around after Drake, Sam would kill her. Hug her first. Then kill her.

This couldn't be. It just couldn't. Poor Jack, who had maybe not always been the most stand-up guy in the world but who had never had a mean bone in his geeky body. And Breeze missing. And Diana. Howard dead. Orc ... somewhere.

And Astrid.

It was all coming apart in his hands. He was watching his whole world bleed out like Jack.

"We've got Astrid, Dekka, Diana—and I hope Brianna—all out there in the desert with Drake," Sam said. "Orc's on his way back out. And in an hour they'll all be in absolute darkness."

"And Justin," Roger said, making a point of it. "And Justin," Sam agreed.

Edilio wiped his face with his hand, a sign of nervousness in the usually impassive Edilio.

Suddenly Sam remembered the first time he'd run into Edilio after the coming of the FAYZ. It had been up at Clifftop. Edilio had been trying to dig under the barrier. Practical, even then.

"Look," Sam pressed. "People here have lights. It's not much, but they have something; they can at least see. What chance do those kids out there in the desert have?"

"Drake's probably reached the mine shaft by now," Edilio said.

"No," Roger said sharply. "No. Don't do that. Don't just write Justin off like that."

Sam saw shame on Edilio's face. "I'm sorry, babe; you know I love that little guy. I didn't mean it like that."

Edilio reached for Roger, then, with a darting sideways glance at Sam, stopped himself.

Roger had made an identical move, and also stopped after an abashed glance at Sam.

Sam stood very still, and for a few very awkward seconds no one spoke.