We rescue who we can. There are around three thousand Alpha survivors, and when we have them gathered we explain that they have to leave the shore. They need to find somewhere else to hide, a place where people cannot get in the way. Flyer agrees to lead them, and when he leaves he tells Arcade that he will miss her. I sense there is more in him that he would like to share, but he doesn’t. I don’t think she even notices. We find Ghost, though there’s no sign of Luna or Thrill. The little Nix takes the loss of his love particularly hard. I wish I could say something to make him feel better, but I’m feeling it too, and there’s nothing to say that could mend my heart. There is no sign of the prime or Minerva, or the high minister or Nor. No one has seen Braken. It’s too dangerous to go ashore and search for Terrance’s family, or for Mr. Ervin and Mr. Doyle. I realize I can never come back here.
“I will never know if Tammy is alive,” Bex says as I push her along on the raft.
“Your mother is a survivor, Bex,” I assure her.
“That she is,” Bex says.
Together, the three of us agree to move along the shoreline, heading south. When it’s safe, we’ll climb out of the water and figure out what to do next.
“I saw him,” I tell Arcade as the last sights of Coney Island disappear on the horizon. “Fathom appeared right after the big wave and saved me.”
She looks at me, then looks out at the cresting foam. Then she nods.
“He’ll find us,” she says confidently.
I’m not sure how far we go, if we’re even still in New York by the time we step onto the beach. It’s deserted, but it won’t be for long. The soldiers will come for us with their guns and fear, just like they did before, but it’s okay. We aren’t staying long anyway. We break into a parked car and steal a cigarette lighter and a handful of change. There’s a huge bag of potato chips in the back seat and a can of Mountain Dew. Dinner. Then we slink back into the woods and build a fire with the lighter, hoping it will dry out our clothes.
In the morning I’m stiff and sweaty. Arcade agrees to wait for us, and Bex and I head toward a street lined with little shops. We fall into some outside seats at a Starbucks, unsure of what to do next.
“I guess we can beg for change,” Bex says.
I nod. It’s an option. Maybe our only one.
“What’s next, Walker?”
“We find our parents,” I say.
“Hey, would you two mind watching my computer for a sec? I gotta use the bathroom,” a guy at a nearby table says.
I shrug, then notice he’s got a phone just like mine.
“If you have a charger,” I say.
He reaches into his backpack and hands one up, rolled tight into a ball, and then he darts inside.
“You should have asked him for a sandwich,” Bex grouses.
I unravel the cord and plug it into a socket on the wall, then I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone. It was underwater for a long time—there is just no way it still works, but I have to try. I need to see the picture, our picture. I need to know that he was real. I attach my phone and wait. The screen is dark and silent.
“They die when you get them wet,” Bex says.
“I know. I just—”
Suddenly, there’s a hum and a tone and the screen lights up.
“No way!” Bex cries, scooting her chair closer to get a better look.
A moment later the whole thing is glowing. It works. I flip on my picture file and spot Fathom’s confused face pressed close to mine. It still exists. And then the phone buzzes with a text.
TEXAS—MR. COFFEE
“What’s that about?” Bex asks.
I smile. “I know where we’re going,” I say.
Somewhere there is a camp hidden in a desert in Texas where my parents are being held. It is filled with kids just like me, the offspring of humans and Alpha, a brand-new clan, all of whom I bet suffer from terrible migraine headaches they cannot explain. They are my people now, my nation. I have to find them and set them free so I can teach them to hear the Voice of the Great Abyss, and when they are strong and ready, we will go back to Coney Island and save the world from the monsters, whether they come from the water or walk on the land. Nothing will stop me, because I am bigger than the world; I make the sea tremble. I am a wild thing.
End of Book One.