Gone

her?” Lana wondered.
    “That’s a Coates Academy uniform,” Astrid answered. “We’re probably not far from there.”
    “Shh,” Lana hissed. “I hear something.”
    Everyone instinctively ducked down. In the silence they could clearly hear a car engine. It was being driven erratically, revving one minute, slowing the next.
    “Come on, let’s find out who it is,” Sam said.
    “How we going to move this girl?” Edilio asked. “I can maybe carry her, but I can’t carry her and that block, man.”
    “I’ll grab her, you grab the block,” Sam said.
    “This thing is really heavy,” Edilio said. “I better not even meet the pendejo who did this. Do this to a person? What kind of animal does something like that?”
    The car turned out to be an SUV. It was driven, as far as Sam could tell, by a lone boy.
    “I know him,” Astrid said. She waved. The SUV lurched to a halt. Astrid leaned against the open window. “Computer Jack?”
    Sam had seen the techie wizard around town but had never really spoken to him.
    “Hi,” the boy said. “Oh, good. You found Taylor. I was looking for her.”
    “You were looking for her?”
    “Yeah. She’s sick. You know, like in the head. She wandered away from school, and so I was looking for her and—”
    Right at that moment, Sam knew it was a trap. A split second too late.
    Drake rose up from behind the third row of seats. He had a gun pointed at Astrid’s head, but he was looking straight at Sam. “Don’t even think about it. However fast you think you are, all I have to do is squeeze the trigger.”
    “I’m not moving,” Sam said. He raised his hands in surrender.
    “Ah ah ah, no no no, Sam boy. I know all about the power. Keep your hands by your side.”
    “I have to help carry this girl,” Sam said.
    “No one’s carrying her anywhere. She’s done for.”
    “We’re not leaving her here,” Astrid said.
    “The guy holding the gun makes the decisions,” Drake said, and grinned. “And if I were you, Astrid, I wouldn’t push me. Caine wants to try to take you and your little brother alive. But if you two try and do your disappearing act, I’ll shoot Sam.”
    “You’re a psychopath, Drake,” Astrid said.
    “Wow. Such a big word. I guess that’s why you’re Astrid the Genius, huh? You know what else is a good word? Retard.”
    Astrid flinched like he had hit her.
    “My brother is a retard,” Drake mimicked. “I wish I had recorded it. Okay. We’re going to climb in the truck here one by one. Nice and slow.”
    “Not without the girl,” Sam said flatly.
    “That’s right,” Edilio agreed.
    Drake sighed theatrically. “Okay. Pick her up. Throw her in the front seat next to Jack.”
    Doing that took some effort. The girl was alive, but not really conscious and was too weak to move.
    Quinn had gone rigid with fear and indecision. Sam could see the conflict on his face. Should he stick with Sam or try and ingratiate himself with Drake?
    Sam wondered what he would decide. For now, his friend was staring wide-eyed, blank, mouth trembling, eyes darting, looking for an answer.
    “It’ll be all right, Quinn,” Sam whispered.
    Quinn didn’t even hear him.
    Astrid climbed in. She sat directly behind Jack. “I really thought there might be some hope for you, Jack.”
    “Nah,” Drake said. “Jack’s like a screwdriver or a pair of pliers. He’s just a tool. He does what we tell him to do.”
    Little Pete and Lana shared the middle bench with Astrid. Edilio and Sam were in the back row. Drake pressed the gun to the back of Edilio’s head.
    “Your problem’s with me, Drake,” Sam said.
    “You might take a chance if it’s only your own life on the line,” Drake said. “But you won’t risk me shooting your pet Mexican here, or your girlfriend.”
    They drove in jerks and starts, Jack frequently weaving off the road onto the shoulder. But they didn’t crash, which was Sam’s only hope. They pulled up outside Coates Academy.
    Sam had been once before, brought there to see where his mother worked. The gloomy old building looked like it had been shelled. One entire room upstairs was exposed. The main door had been blown apart.
    “Looks like a war zone,” Edilio commented.
    “The FAYZ is a war zone,” Drake said darkly.
    The sight of the place brought Sam a wave of sad memories. His mother had done her best to portray her job as something she was excited about, and Coates as a place where she was going to love working. But even