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The Guide was on foot, then Good, in a way, because it would buy them some time

Tyler had to veer around fallen trees, and every swerve rip Adaht over That orse A few cars had run off the road here and there, and sirens wailed in every direction, but they kept driving Once they got aand they encountered hts were still nonfunctional

No one was talking

In the silence, Nick could only think of his brothers, and he was going to freak the fk out if he kept doing that

"Whatno effort to keep the distrust frolanced over at her, sitting curled in the passenger seat "I realized you were doing it again, pushing me away to see if I’d snap back"

"No," she said, "I was pushing you away because you were an assle"

"That, then"

And they lapsed back into silence

Gabriel, Nick thought He wished his brother ith theanize a plan He’d figure out a way to find Michael and Chris, or at least a way to warn them

"They’ll be okay," Adam murmured "We’ll find them"

Nick looked up to find his eyes, war this well"

"Don’t worry, I’m sure my brain will explode tf any minute"

"I’ave a sh, but there wasn’t much humor behind it "You can fill in the blanks later" He paused

"Well, maybe you can fill in one no exactly did you do

whatever?"

"A pressure wave," said Nick "You ever see an explosion on television, where it blows people back?"

"Yeah?"

Nick nodded "Like that All air pressure It didn’t stop the bullet, but it stopped it enough"

Quinn twisted in her seat "And that blew out the s?"

Nick winced "Honestly, we’re lucky it didn’t bring the building down on top of us"

"You’re lucky you didn’t wreckNick’s eyes in the rearview mirror "The shock wave ran me off the road"

"Yeah, too bad," Nick snapped

"Hey, dickhead, I’ you--"

"Shut up," said Quinn Nick shut up, but she was really glaring at Tyler She isted on the seat and jabbing at hiet to say anything to him Do you understand me? If you want to talk to Nick, if you want to talk to my friend, the first word out of your mouth better be I and the next words better be am sorry Otherwise, shut the fk up and drive"

"Don’t waste your breath," said Nick bitterly, though he appreciated the sentiment "He’s not sorry"

Tyler ain, and Nick expected hi vicious, but he held the eye contact for a second, then looked away

He cleared his throat, and when he spoke, his voice was rough "Can you do that again?" he said "The pressure wave?"

Nick hesitated, wondering if there was a trap in the question

"I don’t know" He paused and glanced down at Adaers linked with his "I didn’t know I could do it in the first place It wasn’t on purpose--soer, and we can’t fully control it" His voice turned sharp andabout that, Tyler?"

"You covered a lot of ground," Tyler said, ignoring his tone

"At least twosmaller scale to warn your brothers soht of his connection to Gabriel again, tried to focus on it, to iht now

Was this a typical twin connection? Or did it have so to do with his element? Did the air know Gabriel, know their bond? All this ti power into the atmosphere?

He had no idea

"Open the s," he said

Tyler pushed the button, and wind streah the truck’s cab Nick listened to the air, threading his power a, he thought back But then he paid er The clouds overhead were shifting, darkening in the south, pro a storm sometime in the future

A storm Rain

Chris

But Nick didn’t sense Chris’s power in the storet theothy Beach Road

"Still going to your house?" he said

"Wait," said Nick "Just wait"

They were half a mile from the house now The air here was calht, sending power into the sky

For an instant, nothing

Then he felt it, his brother’s presence, like a blazing beacon in his mind