Gone

His ego demanded it.
    Sam’s walkie-talkie crackled. He had the volume turned down low and had to hold it to his ear to hear Astrid.
    “Sam.”
    “Are you okay in the church, Astrid?”
    “We’re both okay. We’re all okay. The day care?”
    “Safe.”
    “Thank God.”
    “Listen, get everyone in there to lie down. Get them under the pews—that may give them some protection.”
    “I feel useless here.”
    “Just keep Little Pete calm, he’s the wild card. He’s like a stick of dynamite. We don’t know what he might do.”
    “I think a vial of nitroglycerin would be a more apt analogy. Dynamite is actually quite stable.”
    Sam smiled. “You know it always gets me hot when you say ‘apt analogy.’”
    “Why do you think I do it?”
    Knowing that she was right there, just fifty feet away, smiling sadly, scared but trying to be brave, sent a wave of longing and worry through him that almost brought tears to his eyes.
    He wished Quinn had been able to eliminate Drake. Buthe suspected his friend would not have survived with his soul intact if he had. Some people could do things like that. Some couldn’t. That second group were probably the luckier ones.
    “Come on, Caine,” Sam whispered to himself. “Let’s do this.”
    Brianna blurred up next to him. “Drake went to his house. You know, the place where he was staying.”
    “Is Caine there?”
    “I don’t think so.”
    “Good job, Breeze. Now go into the church. Go slowly so Bug can see you if he’s watching.”
    “I want to help.”
    “That’s what I need you to do, Brianna.”
    She trudged off, making a show of it. Sam was alone. The normals huddled at the far end of the plaza as Caine had ordered. The freaks—Sam hated using the word, but it was hard not to—were in the church.
    And now it came down to him and Caine.
    Would Caine come?
    Would he come alone?
    Sam glanced at his watch. In just a little over an hour, it wouldn’t matter.
    From not far enough away, he heard a coyote howl.

FORTY-FOUR
    01 HOURS , 06 MINUTES
    “THEY’RE DOING IT,” Bug yelled as he burst through the door.
    “All right,” Caine said. “Showtime. Everyone load up. Into the cars.”
    There was a scramble for the door. Chaz, Chunk, Mallet, and a much-abashed Frederico, who had finally freed himself from duct-tape bondage, all raced for the station wagon in the garage. Diana, oozing suppressed rage from every pore, followed. Panda grabbed Lana by the arm and pushed her toward the door.
    Only then did Caine realize someone was missing. “Where’s Howard?”
    “I…I don’t know,” Panda admitted. “I didn’t see him leave.”
    “Useless worm. Without Orc, he’s dead weight,” Caine said. “Forget him.”
    The second car in the garage was a luxury car, an Audi with a sunroof. Panda jumped behind the wheel, and Dianarode shotgun. Caine took the backseat for himself.
    Panda pushed the automatic garage door remote control. Both doors rose.
    Both cars lurched forward. The Subaru wagon promptly crunched into the side of the Audi.
    Chaz was driving the wagon. He rolled down his window. “Sorry.”
    “Great start,” Diana said.
    “Go,” Caine ordered tersely.
    Panda accelerated into the street, keeping his speed to a prudent twenty-five miles per hour. The wagon stayed a block back.
    “Bada bum bada bum bada bum bum bum.” Diana began humming the William Tell Overture.
    “Knock it off,” Caine snapped.
    They had gone two blocks when Panda slammed on the brakes.
    A dozen coyotes streaked across the street.
    Caine rose up through the sunroof and yelled, “What are you doing? Where are you going?”
    Pack Leader stopped and glared with yellow eyes. “Whip Hand gone,” he snarled.
    “What? What happened at the day care?”
    “Whip Hand go. Pack Leader go,” the coyote said.
    “No way,” Caine said. To Diana, he said, “They’ve got the day care. What do I do?”
    “You tell me, Fearless Leader.”
    Caine slammed his fist down on the roof of the car. “Okay,Pack Leader, unless you’re a coward, follow me.”
    “Pack Leader follows the Darkness. All others follow Pack Leader. Pack is hungry. Pack must eat.”
    “I’ve got food for you,” Caine said. “There’s a plaza full of kids.”
    Pack Leader hesitated.
    “It’s easy,” Caine said. “You can come with me and take as many kids as you want. Get every one of your coyotes. Bring them all. It’s a buffet.”
    Pack Leader yipped a command to his pack. The coyotes circled back