A/N: i just noticed some of the formatting at the end was weird so i changed it

Warnings: swearing, guns, cute tired drake

Word Count: 2043 

We sit in silence in the car, Drake by the window, me in the middle, Diana and Computer Jack crammed in on my right. Caine sits in the passenger seat, staring out the window, with Panda driving. Drake has one of his pistols in his hand, and he plays with the safety, switching it on and off, sometimes rolling down the window and aiming at signs, but never shooting. Which is good, or we'll get through ammo pretty fast. My own pistol is in my waistband, cold metal pressing against my skin. Drake flips the safety back on, and Diana speaks.

'Do you really know how to use that or are you just going to shoot yourself in the foot?'

'Yeah, knock it off,' Caine says, and I feel Drake tense a little.

I growl. 'He can use it. He can show you exactly how, if you want.' Drake slings an arm around my shoulder and leers at Diana, and I relish the way she shrinks back just a little, eyes widening.

'That's weird,' Caine mutters, and we all look over at him.

'What?' I ask.

'Benno isn't the type to disobey orders.' Caine replies. 'He should be in the gatehouse. Drake?'

Drake jumps out of the car, and I go to follow him.

'You stay here,' Caine orders, and I sigh.

'Fine,' I roll down the window and stretch my hand out of the car so I can make a forcefield around Drake, just in case. He notices and flashes me a shark - like grin, and I watch as slowly he peeks into the guard hut, then opens the gates.

The car lurches forward as Panda drives through, stopping to let Drake get back in. We aren't far from the school when we notice the second floor wall is blown out so that we can see into the classroom beyond.

'I'm just guessing, but I doubt that was there last time you came?' I say, and the others nod their heads. We all pile out of the car, minus Panda.

'Panda?' Caine says impatiently. 'Go open the door.'

'No way,' he replies shakily, and suddenly Caine raises his hands and Panda goes flying through the air, slamming into the door and falling in a heap.

'I can't move,' he wails. 'My leg is hurt.'

I cock my head, pulling out my pistol, ready to threaten, when I hear heavy dragging footsteps. Bent over, ape like figures run from the door, almost treading on Panda, each holding a cement block - no, it completely encases their hands.

'Give us food,' they moan, clustering around Caine, and I smell acrid sick as Computer Jack vomits all over the floor.

'Out of the way,' Caine says, swatting at them, and they shrink away, fully aware of the extent of his power.

'They Coates?' I ask softly, and Drake nods.

'All of the ones with powers who opposed Caine.'

I nod slowly, letting Drake trot ahead to lead the way so I can take a better look at the kids. The cement entirely encases their hands, basically meaning they can't use their powers.

Suddenly, there's a loud bang, and I glance up as Drake collapses to the floor, nose streaming blood, and Caine with his hands outstretched, slamming bricks from the front of the building into the door. I run over to Drake and check him over for injuries, but thankfully he's just a tad stunned. I help him to his feet as Caine yells.

'Is that you, Andrew?'

'I'm sorry!' Andrew whimpers. 'I thought you were - were - '

I zone out as the others close in, Caine using his charm, Drake using his intimidation, all to manoeuvre Andrew into a position where Jack can film his poof. He explains in stutters about his theory that he won't poof if he uses his powers, and suddenly there's plaster raining from the ceiling as he sends his sonic wave into it. One second he's there, the next he's gone, just like Anna and Emma. Caine jumps and runs over to Jack, urgent.

'What did you see? What happened?'

Jack narrows his eyes at the screen of the camera and sighs. 'I'll need my laptop and a big screen.'

I follow the others, feeling kind of useless since I don't know my way around Coates. Eventually, we find a big screen and Jack hooks his computer up with it. He does some techie things which mystify me, and slowly an image appears. Andrew, arms outstretched, smiling happily, reaching towards something. Something being some weird green blob with rows and rows of razor sharp teeth.

'He's reaching out to hug it,' Diana says.

'Why?' Caine asks, then answers his own question. 'It must have appeared as someone he wanted to see.'

'His mother?' I ask.

'Why not?' Diana replies.

'Okay,' Drake says. 'I get that, but what the fuck is that green thing with the teeth?'

-------

Drake and I round up the cinder block kids and feed them, check through the main building for anyone who's waiting to attack Caine, then set about finding a place to sleep. The classroom missing a wall is obviously a no, as are the ones which are too bright. Finally, we find a perfect room, and we drag the tables in a sort of fortress around us. I curl up beside Drake, and he runs a hand through my hair and kisses each corner of my mouth, then full centre, slipping his tongue in and knotting a hand into the hairs at my nape. A shiver runs down my spine as his tongue brushes against mine, and he pulls away, smiling that smile.

I frown, ignoring the way he's got my heart pounding.

'One of us should go on watch.'

'I will,' he says.

'No, me,' I argue. 'You'll wake up if anything happens anyway.'

'Rebel - '

'Do I need to knock you out? I won't be able to sleep anyway.'

'Fine,' he says, putting his head in my lap and stretching out full length.

It's around an hour later that someone knocks on the door. Immediately, Drake is up on his feet, and I arch a brow.

'Were you sleeping, or were you faking it?'

'Bit of both,' he replies, opening the door and glaring down at a Coates kid.

'Caine wants you to go to Piggyback mountain and look for Sam.' He doesn't dare take his eyes away from Drake's face, and I smirk and get up as he continues. 'Cement him and his friends too.'

'Go get Panda and Louise,' Drake says, then sighs. 'And... Chunk.'

Once we have everyone, Chunk helping a semi useless limping Panda along, we get into one of the SUVs, Louise, a skinny black girl, at the wheel. She's a much more reckless driver than Panda, and I start feeling slightly pissed as we venture up the road, accompanied with Panda's constant whining and Chunk's endless chatter. Drake, Chunk and I sit in the backseat, Drake in the middle, arm slung around my shoulder as he leans his head against me. I notice his eyes drooping, almost closing, before he shakes his head, blinking a few times and focusing on the road ahead.

'Drake, go to sleep,' I say over Chunk's noise.

'Why aren't you tired?' He asks.

'Why not?' I reply. 'Just go to sleep, I know you want to.'

He huffs, but slumps himself onto me, closing his eyes, falling asleep in seconds. I smirk to myself and kiss his hair, intertwining our fingers together, feeling him nuzzle into my side. What feels like a few hours later, Chunk notices Drake's asleep.

'Is he asleep?' Chunk asks timidly.

'Wake him up with your incessant chatter and I will blow your brains out.'

'Is he - is he - in your pants?'

I glance down at Drake and notice that he's lazily opened one eye, a half smirk on his face.

'A good question,' Drake says. 'Am I in your pants, Rebel?'

Chunk screeches. 'You're awake? Oh my God!'

I lean back in my seat, absently playing with a lock of Drake's hair, which is long enough now that it curls around his ears and touches his nape. 'So, Merwin, are you in my pants?'

'Maybe,' he drawls, enjoying how Chunk squirms.

'Soon, huh?' I grin, and Chunk shifts uncomfortably in his seat. I look over at him. 'The way he talks, Chunk. Doesn't it just give you a thrill?' He gulps and nods, and I raise an eyebrow. 'It does? Looks like I've got competition.'

Drake laughs and kisses my cheek, putting his lips to my ear so no one can hear. 'Don't worry, babe, he's not my type.'

Suddenly, the car lurches to a halt, and Louise speaks up.

'We're here.'

Drake opens the car door but makes no move to get out. We listen to the howls of coyotes, and Drake looks East. 'Sun's about to rise.'

'What happened with Andrew?' Louise asks before Chunk can open his mouth.

'He ditched, man. He cut a hole,' Panda says, for once not looking at me.

'I still got more than a year.' She says. 'I'm only thirteen. Someone will come and rescue us in a year, right?'

'Sooner would be better, what with me having a month,' Drake replies.

I shrug. 'Yeah, well I have what, a day more than Caine? I'm screwed first.'

'I've got till June,' Chunk says. 'That makes me a Cancer, you kno - '

'Shut up,' I growl. 'Don't you ever get tired of your own voice?'

'I have to go,' Drake says. He climbs down out of the SUV and walks to the edge of the lookout, up to the railing. He starts peering over the side and I join him, noticing something that looks like a match being carried through the night.

'Chunk, get me the binoculars,' Drake orders. Chunk comes hustling up a few seconds later. Drake yanks the binoculars from his hands and tries to capture the spark in his field of vision. It's moving too fast to be carried by a person, even a fast person. Then the spark stops moving, and gradually the flame starts growing. He hands me the binoculars.

'What do you think that is?'

'House of some kind?' I suggest. 'Must be pretty dry down there. And - are those dogs?' I frown, squinting through the binoculars, when suddenly there's a blinding flash, and I yank them away from my eyes. I pass them back to Drake, just as there's another flash, and I tilt my head. 'Sam has laser hands, right?'

'You think that's this kid you're trying to catch?' Chunk exclaims. 'Dude's got the power, man. Like in that movie - '

Drake yanks the gun from his belt and speaks. 'No, Chunk: this is the power. And I've got it.'

That shuts Chunk up for a few seconds.

Drake glances back in the direction we came from, trying to make sense of the topography. 'Coates is back that way. The barrier is over that way.' He frowns, rubbing his brow. 'There's no wind, so the fire is going to climb the hill, which means they'll be coming this way, toward Coates. They'll pass down below us.'

'What are you going to do, shoot them when they walk past?' Chunk asks, eager and afraid.

'Yup, that's right,' I say sardonically. 'Three hundred feet down this hill and he's going to shoot them with a handgun. At least my rifle's back at Coates, it definitely wouldn't be able to shoot them.'

'So what do we do?' Panda asks. 'No wonder Caine's scared of this guy. Dude can do all that?'

I raise my eyebrows. 'Want to see what this can do?' I ask, pulling my pistol from my waistband.

'Woah, you took that out so fast, just like - ' Chunk stops and trails off when I stare him down, and Drake shakes his head slowly, lips pulled back in a snarl.

'It isn't Sam or even Caine you need to worry about, it's me and Rebel. Mr Laser Hands down there isn't going to make it to where he can fight Caine. I'm going to take him down long before that.'