You will have power, Drake Merwin.

Drake smirked. The phrase had become a kind of mantra to him. He heard it all day, all night. Drake thought it pathetic that Caine had gone into a frenzied coma over the voice.

Drake savoured every word.

The Healer will give you power.

Drake closed his eyes, blissfully dwelling within his—and the gaiaphage's—mind. He knew the Healer was back with the gaiaphage, helping it to regain its own power, while she was wasting away within it.

Penny strutted into the living room, and sat down on the floor beside him.

Like a good dog.

"Is it speaking to you again?" She seemed in awe of both Drake and the Darkness, wanting the same, powerful connection Drake had. But she was just a stupid kid. The gaiaphage would never impart its power onto someone like her.

"Yes." He said, far more kindly than he had intended.

Penny jumped on the unexpected warmth, pulling herself onto the couch beside him. Drake moved away slightly, uncoiling his whip arm and raising it—not to attack—but simply as a warning. Penny eyed it for a moment, but her eyes went back to Drake.

"What is it saying?" She said, the awe still obvious in her voice. Drake's lips formed a small smile.

"The same thing. It hasn't changed." Drake pointed to the kitchen, and Penny ran off to get him another glass of cold water.

He could feel the gaiaphage's presence, his mind reeling as he waited eagerly for its inevitable instructions. He hadn't killed in so long, and even the memory of his last kill—one of Edilio's soldiers—was fading fast.

Killing with the power.

Oh don't worry, Drake thought.

There would be plenty of that.

Lil was just putting out the plates for lunch when Brianna arrived.

"Hey, what's for lunch?" Brianna looked exhausted from watching the prees, and Lil saw something that looked suspiciously like chewing gum stuck to the side of her pants.

"Beans and mush, and it looks like you could use it." Lil still hadn't gotten used to food in the FAYZ. A part of her—no, all of her—wished her purse had been packed with hamburgers when she had fallen face-first onto the highway. She did happen to have a Twix bar, but she had been nibbling on it sparingly, wanting to savour it.

Brianna slumped into one of Lil's kitchen chairs, and John walked in after her about five minutes later.

"You know, if you had remembered your skateboard, John, you would have gotten here a lot faster." Brianna said with a wink. John scowled.

"Yeah, yeah I know. Can you pass the mush?" Lil cleaned off her plate, grabbed her purse and headed out the door to take over Brianna's shift.

"Stay safe!"

"Stay safe, Lil!"

Stay safe. It had become the new goodbye in Perdido Beach. People had thought Lil was from Coates—she shuddered at the thought—when she first arrived. On top of that, the Human Crew had hunted her down and demanded to know if she was a freak. John had vouched for her, but they still weren't sure they believed them. Now, people still didn't trust her fully, but at least she could live out here in peace.

There sure was a lot going on in this town, Lil thought.

As Lance and Zil watched the new girl walk into the Daycare, Lance felt a mix of emotions. On the one hand, there was no proof to say she wasn't a freak. The only person in town who knew her was Brianna, and she definitely wasn't trustworthy. Lance himself was still suspicious. Rumours had also been circulating saying she was an adult, but he hadn't decided what to make of them yet.

But on the other hand, the guys had been really hard on her when she arrived. They had held her at gunpoint for almost an hour, but she had insisted that she didn't have any powers. Then the John kid showed up, and he had told Zil and the guys to back down. Both of the kids worked at the Daycare, and most of the kids there were normals.

If anyone was going down, it wasn't going to be a group of his own kind.

He walked up to the Daycare window, and looked inside. Lil and Amelia—a normal who Lil had hired—were watching the kids.

Walking at normal speeds.

Changing diapers with normal hands.

Acting, as far as Lance could see, totally normal.

Suddenly, Lil raised an eyebrow, turning in Lance's direction and making eye contact. Lance faltered, feeling guilty for being caught. But he quickly picked up his baseball bat and walked into the Daycare with authority. Lil looked him up and down, her eyebrow still raised.

"Would you mind not bringing that in here? I don't want the kids getting any ideas." Lance reopened the door, tossing the bat outside.

"Better?" he said, sounding slightly sarcastic.

"Yeah, and actually I have another question. Can you please not watch us through the windows? We're kind of busy, and you're kind of distracting us." Lance looked over to Amelia, who was still working, but obviously eavesdropping.

"Okay, well I was just making sure you were telling the truth earlier. You know, about not having any powers. Have a nice day," he said, exiting the daycare. He felt guilty about their conversation, but he simply picked up his baseball bat and shrugged.

It's not like he was lying.

AN: Okay, so it's starting kind of slow, but I guess all stories do to some extent. I hope you enjoy, because I need sleep! Have a great night, and I shall be thinking of more hilarious GONE puns for next post. Also, about my "anyfayz" pun: My boyfriend said "any person who makes a joke that is that bad, deserves to be broken up with" LOL. Goodnight! Please post reviews, I love them! :D