The FAYZ

The FAYZ was a history changing event that occurred in the small town of Perdido Beach, California. FAYZ stands for Fallout Alley Youth Zone which is what the children in Perdido Beach and Coates Academy call the area they live in. By everyone other than the children of Perdido Beach, the area is called **The Perdido Beach Anomaly**, **PBA** for short. All of the area that is encased by the dome is part of the FAYZ. The word "FAYZ" was coined by Howard Bassem.

## Background

The FAYZ was created on March tenth, a Monday, in 2004, at ten eighteen in the morning. Howard Bassem coined the term "Fallout Alley Youth Zone" along with its acronym. The FAYZ is surrounded by an impenetrable barrier, that is painful to touch. It is a dome 20 miles (30 kilometers) in diameter, and the nuclear power plant is in the exact center. The FAYZ was created by a 4 year old child named Little Pete to avoid a nuclear disaster.

When the FAYZ was created, everybody over the age of fifteen disappeared. When a teenager reaches their fifteenth birthday, that have the option to poof (from *Gone* to the end of *Fear* no one inside the FAYZ knew where it would lead) or remain in the FAYZ (no one could do this until the end of *Gone*). According to Orsay, death and poofing are the only known ways to escape the FAYZ, however in *Light* Gaia found out that she could "punch" Little Pete and let anyone touching the wall come in or out.

## Gone

In the seaside town Perdido Beach, everyone over the age of 15 suddenly vanishes. The confused children (including the surfer Sam Temple, his friends Quinn Gaither and James Rodgers and his crush Astrid Ellison) head towards the plaza, where they discover there is a fire in the apartment building. Sam manages to get the little girl out of there, but he discovered that she had the power to start fires. The girl dies soon afterwards as Orc's crew, including Howard, Cookie, Shaun and Panda, take charge of Perdido Beach.

Sam, Astrid, James and Quinn start looking for Astrid's severely autistic brother, Little Pete. They find an almost translucent barrier by Clifftop Hotel that they can't get through - it lets light in, but cannot be seen through. They find Edilio Escobar trying to dig under it, but they discover that they're trapped in a dome. Meanwhile, kids at Perdido Beach are beginning to organize themselves - Mary Terrafino is running the daycare to keep young kids safe, with her brother John, twins Emma and Anna, and a reluctant Panda helping. Albert Hillsborough is running the McDonalds to feed the kids.

On the way to the nuclear power plant, Quinn tells Edilio the story of a meteor hitting the plant and killing a man. Orc's gang ambush them and declare that they control Perdido Beach. Eventually, they find Little Pete, who wakes up screaming in the night to telekinetically choke Sam. Edilio confronts Sam, who admits to having the ability to shoot burning light from his hands. Astrid confesses that Little Pete also has powers - but far greater than Sam's.

When they return to Perdido Beach, the Coates Academy kids arrive. Caine Soren and his lackeys (including the silvertongued Diana Ladris, the sadistic Drake Merwin, the weirdo Max Wayne and the techmaster Computer Jack) organize a meeting in the church. They assign Sam, Quinn and Edilio the job of fireman and Orc the job of deputy sheriff. Orc realizes that the Coates kids want to take over, but while Panda gives in, Orc, Howard, Shaun and Cookie attack Caine. Caine uses his telekinesis to badly injure Cookie. Dahra Baidoo offers to start a hospital, with Cookie as the first patient.

Orc accidentally causes bleeding in the brain of a girl named Bette after she uses her power, and the truth about powers is out. Edilio and Quinn are disliking each other more and more, so Sam takes Bette to Dahra where she dies. Sam starts a relationship with Astrid, but is betrayed by Quinn who tells Caine that Sam is a "mutant". After Emma and Anna poof, Diana figures out that Caine and Sam are fraternal twins, and Caine nearly kills Sam but Little Pete teleports them away.

Soon, Albert is attacked by a teleporting cat. It misjudges and solidifies in a book. Computer Jack is confronted by Diana, who has the power to read the power levels of mutants. She tells him that she knows he has a power. Jack, terrified of the consequences that will happen if she tells Caine, admits to having super strength, and promises to do whatever Diana says - but not before she reveals that Sam and Caine are the only four-bars. They go to Coates and film the poof of Andrew, who turns fifteen. Jack works out that he was tempted, and if you refuse you won't poof.

Drake chases down Sam and Quinn (who helped Sam escape after feeling guilty about betraying his friend). Sam, James, Quinn, Edilio, Astrid and Pete manage to escape and meet Lana Arwen Lazar, a girl with the power to heal. Lana has been living with coyotes but has seen a creature known as the Darkness. They free the Coates cemented mutants (including Brianna, Taylor and Dekka) and Sam burns off Drake's right arm with his light beams. Lana heals Cookie, but is kidnapped by Drake - who wants his arm back. Shaun, Howard and Orc meet them, and Orc is gored by the talking coyotes. The Darkness gives Drake a tentacle as a replacement for his missing arm. Diana sends Jack to Perdido Beach to tell Sam the truth about the poof, but he is delayed by Emily and Brother who want him to repair their Wii.

Caine decides to take over Perdido Beach once and for all. Taylor warns Sam, who sends Quinn and Brianna to the daycare, where the coyotes have killed Tanner. Dekka and Sam are delayed by Panda and Frederico. Caine uses a mutant with the power of camouflage, Bug, to keep him updated while he confronts Diana about his love for her. She calls the coyotes off, and Drake sees Howard run off to find Orc - who is now a hulking stone/gravel monster. Drake fights Orc as Jack and Diana are both stopped from telling Sam how to beat the poof by Caine - it's their birthday. Sam and Caine fight and are tempted by their mother, Connie Temple. They choose to stay in the FAYZ. Sam spares Caine, who returns to Coates with Shaun, Max, Bug, Diana, Drake and Panda. Cookie is grateful to Lana and stays in Perdido Beach with her, Sam, James, Astrid, Quinn, Edilio, Pete, Albert, Orc, Howard, Dahra, John, Brianna, Jack, Dekka, Taylor, Mary and dozens of other kids. Albert arranges a Thanksgiving meal for everyone in Perdido Beach to celebrate the removal of Caine's Group.

## Hunger

When all kids in the FAYZ have wasted most of their food and let it spoil, Sam asks for a group of people to get on a bus to help pick plants out in the farmlands. A kid named E.Z. dies when he goes to the fields to pick cabbages as mutated worm-like creatures, later called zekes, attacked him.

Meanwhile, the character Duck, using his power, unintentionally creates a whirlpool that sucks him from his pool to an underground cavern.

Fueled by a widespread prejudice against people with powers, especially after he almost got sucked into a whirlpool made by Duck because he bullied him around and angered him, Zil creates the "Human Crew", an organization that discriminates against these "freaks."

Caine wakes up from a three-month coma and tells Diana to bring Jack back to Coates so they can take over the nuclear plant in order to control the town's electricity. After ending up losing all electricity Caine mentally receives a message from the Gaiaphage telling him to bring it a uranium rod from the plant and realizes it may be controlling him. Lana has also been receiving messages from the Gaiaphage and attempts to blow up the mineshaft, but she fails, falling under the Gaiaphage's control.

Edilio, a student from Perdido Beach, travels to the mineshaft in order to destroy it, with James along with another girl named Dekka  who has the ability to defy gravity in small spaces. Edilio is shot by Lana, who is under the control of the Gaiaphage. It is revealed that the Gaiaphage plans to use Lana's powers, along with a uranium rod from the nuclear plant, to create a new, near-invincible body for itself. Astrid determines that the Gaiaphage was created by the accident at the nuclear plant 15 years ago, and that the accident may also be the cause of her peers' supernatural powers.

Sam and Duck Zhang, who can control his density, travel to the mineshaft in order to fight the Gaiaphage. Caine uses his powers to bring a uranium rod to the mineshaft, but, upon seeing his love interest Diana injured by Drake, throws the rod at the psychopath's chest, knocking him into the mineshaft and collapsing its entrance. Duck creates a hole in the ground leading to the Gaiaphage and is then thrown by Caine into the hole. While falling, Duck uses his powers to become heavier than a mountain and smashes into the Gaiaphage, dragging the creature down to the bottom of the barrier surrounding the FAYZ, but sadly dying in the process.

Lana heals the wounded, including Sam, Dekka, Shaun, Diana, Brianna and Edilio. Orc and Howard keep the town kids from hanging Hunter who accidentally killed Harry with his powers, and save Astrid and Little Pete. The book ends on a cliffhanger when the readers realize Brittney, a girl buried in the plaza after she was seemingly killed at the power plant earlier in the book, is still alive.

## Lies

Before the events of the book, Astrid had compiled a town council to take the strain off Sam leading the kids, in the hopes that she will be able to bring about new rules and laws that everyone will follow.

At the beginning of the book, a young girl named Jill is forced out of her home by the Human Crew because she's a freak who was living in their territory. Soon after, a girl named Sinder tells Sam that Orsay is calling herself a prophet. Sam investigates and finds out that Orsay is saying she can see the dreams of family members outside the FAYZ. Also, Orsay seems to have a helper, a girl named Nerezza, who Sam has never seen before.

Sam, James and Edilio find Brittney's grave open and realize that the girl is alive, and sitting in Howard and Orc’s living room. Instead of telling the Town Council like they have been told to, Sam decides to keep the news secret; he thinks that any more danger and unusual happening will just get the kids in even more of a panic, causing further mayhem.

Jill is taken to the daycare, but is soon picked up by Orsay and Nerezza.

A dead boy is found on the beach who appears to have been whipped to death. As soon as he sees it, Sam knows that Drake Merwin has returned, but is not believed, as Drake was buried under tonnes of rubble along with the Gaiaphage.

Caine and the other inhabitants of Coates, almost dead from starvation, resort to cannabilism, after Panda dies in a car crash. They eat his body, however, they realize that they cannot last much longer with this little food. They find out about San Francisco de Sales Island, a place they believe will have food, and make the decision to aim to get there.

Sam is angry with Astrid because she won't let him take out the Human Crew, despite knowing that they are a threat to the town. Tensions begin to build between the two.

Meanwhile, Caine plans to use the Human Crew to start a fire in the town to distract Sam, so that the Coates Kids can steal a boat to the island without being noticed. From the beach, Hank of the Human Crew shoots at them, sinking one of the boats, but Caine decides not to save the people- less mouths to feed, he reasons.

Later, Astrid tells Mary not to "poof" and not to believe Orsay because she says that she is lying about her visions. However, the council argue against Astrid that she can't prove Orsay is lying. Astrid steps down from Head of the Council as she feels that she is not fit for the role.

During the fire in the town, they find out that Drake Merwin really is alive, and Sam, who was tortured by Drake, does everything to find and kill him, but doesn't succeed. Although he finds Drake on the beach, he runs in fear from him. the Gaiaphage uses Brittney's immortality and Lana's healing powers to give Drake a second life. But now, Brittney and Drake are fused together; one moment, Brittney's mind and body is present, but then Drake gets control and his mind and body is present. This change goes back and forth.

After the fire, the town is left in devastation. Kids are dead, and a lot are injured. Jack, Dekka and Orc managed to put out the fire by collapsing houses that it would have spread to. Even so, it has decimated a good portion of town. Sam has a huge argument with Astrid about how he is the one who always goes and gets stuff done, while everyone else is content to put a leash on him and tell him what to do. He flees the town, due to pressure from the argument and fear of Drake.

Caine finds the island, and two boys named Sanjit and Virtue. They, with their three foster-siblings, have been on the island for the whole time and do not know what is going on in the rest of the FAYZ. When Caine arrives, Sanjit doesn't like the look of him and the Power he has observed Caine using. Caine and the others ask for food and eat like hungry wolves. Later, Sanjit drugs their food and escapes while they are sleeping, although Caine almost stops them. They take off in a helicopter that Sanjit is driving. Caine almost kills them by bringing down the helicopter, but Diana deliberately falls off a cliff to see if Caine will choose to save her, or kill Sanjit and his siblings. Caine chooses to save Diana, as he loves her.

Sam goes up to the power plant, where Drake almost killed him in *Hunger*. After hearing a sound, he uses his Power to destroy the room. Here, he builds up his strength to return to Perdido Beach and defeat Drake.

In town, it is discovered that Astrid had no proof that Orsay was lying. In an attempt to regain the kids' trust, she makes a speech about how she wants to try to help the town, and shows the new laws she has come up with. At the same time Nerezza tells Zil to gather his crew and start a riot, which he does. Drake emerges as well, and begins to terrorise the kids. They are herded towards the beach.

Brianna finds Sam and brings him back in time for the final showdown. Mary, who has come to believe Orsay completely, has gathered the Littles and drawn them to a cliff to commit mass suicide as a way to go back to their parents' as Orsay says. Orsay is found to be dead, killed by Nerezza, who has been manipulating her for the whole book. It is revealed that Nerezza is in fact the avatar of the Gaiaphage. Dekka deals with Zil, dropping him from high up with her power, and she manages to kill him. Also, with Brianna's help, Dekka saved the Littles as Mary jumped off the cliff for her big One-Five. Sam confronts Drake and burns him, but finds that he can regenerate with Brittney's ability. Nerezza uses Jill, the "Siren," to sing, which stops everyone but her, Drake and Little Pete in their tracks. It is then that the helicopter which Sanjit is driving arrives, cutting out the noise of Jill, and allowing Sam to destroy Nerezza and imprison Drake. In the aftermath, Little Pete finds his Game Boy smashed and screams in terror, which causes the FAYZ wall to seemingly disappear, however only briefly, revealing beyond what appears to be Orsay's vision of the outside world.

At the end of *Lies*, Drake and Brittney, as one, are kept in a basement. Brittney wants Sam and the others to kill her, because only that would kill 'The Demon' Drake. But Sam cannot do this because it would feel like killing an innocent girl, so they keep on imprisoning the "undead thing" in the basement.

## Plague

Sam checks on Howard and Orc, who have kept Drake and Brittney locked up. Sam confiscates a bottle of beer but drinks it himself as his break-up with Astrid has left him depressed. Drunk, he kisses Taylor.

Meanwhile, Hunter Lefkowitz is preparing to kill a mountain lion, but he is distracted by a bug emerging from the scab on his shoulder. The bug bites the lion, and the terrified lion makes no attempt to stop Hunter from torching him.

Sam is woken by Albert Hillsborough, who tells him that the water situation is worse than he's been letting on, but there may be another lake in the FAYZ. Not trusting Brianna, Albert sends Sam, James, Jack, Dekka and Taylor in secret to find it. This leaves only Brianna, a drunk Orc, and a few guns as defense.

On the island, Diana tells Caine that if he wants to take over the FAYZ again, then she'll leave him for good. Penny, who has shattered legs, is turning insane, Shaun is just enjoying himself, Max is training the others to fight and Bug is becoming increasingly irritating to both Diana and Caine.

Roscoe, collecting meat from Hunter, is bitten by the bug. Hunter meets with the Town Council - Edilio, Albert, Dekka, Ellen and Howard - as well as Lana and Astrid. They don't know what is happening to him.

Dahra Baidoo is under pressure, as a new flu (nicknamed the SDC) is killing people rapidly. Sanjit Brattle-Chance is also trying to chat up Lana, to the irritation of Virtue.

Dekka tells Sam about Hunter, and so they take a detour to visit Hunter. Hunter is being eaten alive by the bugs, but cannot kill them. Neither can Sam, so he kills Hunter out of mercy.

Little Pete is coming down with the SDC, worrying Astrid. Drake manages to escape and takes Albert's bodyguard, Jamal, as a prisoner. A drunk Orc smashes around town, and Taylor leaves Sam's group after the bugs. Edilio locks Roscoe up after learning that the bug bit him.

Sam, Dekka, James and Jack are approached by Pack Leader, who is infected. Sam kills him in exchange for the location of the greenies. He tries to kill the greenies, but Dekka is infected. They then discover an insane boy named Toto with the ability to tell truth from lie. Toto has been living off Nutella since the FAYZ began, which he found in a smashed open train car, which he shows to Sam, Dekka, and Jack. They open the other train cars, most of which contain worthless things, but they do find Pepsi and noodles, which they believe to be a fantastic discovery.

Drake makes his way to the Gaiaphage when he sees Hunter's bugs, which are now the size of SUVs. They clear the mineshaft after Jamal is fed to them. Drake is given the bugs as an army, and is told to kill Sam, Dekka, James and Jack, who have found the lake.

Diana and Caine start sleeping together and have sex. Edilio comes down with the SDC, and the Human Crew break into Albert's house and shoot him in the head. Leslie-Ann finds him lying still in his own blood, his eyes unseeing. However, she sees him blink.

Roscoe is killed by the emerging bugs. Brianna follows them as they leave, unable to kill them. This leaves no one playing defense until Brianna returns, unable to beat them. She reports that they are heading to town.

Pete blows the roof of his house off and creates a rain cloud. Astrid and Orc take him to Coates after Turk and Lance nearly kill him. Lana saves Albert, and knowing only one person can kill the bugs, Edilio sends Quinn to get Caine. When Quinn arrives, Diana realizes she is pregnant.

Caine arrives in town and Taylor joins his side, as does Turk after Caine kills Lance. He becomes king of Perdido Beach. Him and Shaun goes to fight the bugs, but they are stronger than they know.

After narrowly escaping Drake and the bugs, Jack goes to Perdido Beach to help. Sam, James, Dekka and Toto are not as fast.

Brianna helps Caine and they manage to defeat the bugs. Drake arrives at Coates Academy for Nemesis, AKA Little Pete. Orc is overwhelmed by the bugs. Jack arrives to help but loses to Drake. Astrid decides that if the Gaiaphage wants Pete, she will kill him (as she also believes his death will end the FAYZ). His body vanishes, as do the bugs.

Dekka is barely saved by Sam and Lana, and the Big Split is created - two thirds of kids stay in town while the others go to the lake.

Sam, Dekka, Brianna, Jack, Orc, Howard, Edillio, Shaun, Diana and some others go to Lake Tromonto and Caine, Bug, Taylor, Max, Lana, Sanjit, Virtue, Turk, Albert, Quinn and some others stay in Perdido Beach.

## Fear

Connie Temple, Sam's mom, reflects on when she "poofed" out of the FAYZ. Later, Quinn and his fishing crew discover a black stain creeping up the side of the barrier. Astrid has also seen the stain and is going back to Lake Tramonto to warn Sam, after which, they sleep together. Back in Perdido Beach, Caine is deciding what to do with Cigar after finding out Cigar unknowingly murdered another kid. Caine has established a system of court: disrespecting him will lead to a fine, stealing will lead to a temporary imprisonment, and worse crimes result in being tortured by Penny's horrifying visions, or worse, death. Caine doesn't want to start a fight with Quinn by killing a member of his crew, so he sentences Cigar to endure a whole day with Penny. Later, Quinn checks up on Cigar and discovers he ripped out his eyes to escape from the visions. Quinn is horrified and takes him to Lana. She is able to heal part of his eyes, letting them grow back to marble size. Only now he sees in different colors depending on a person's character and can also spot the Gaiaphage attempting to touch Lana's mind. Soon after, the book shows a part from Little Pete's mind. He has become bored since he no longer has a "game" to play with the Gaiaphage, or a body to weigh him down, so he "reaches" out and touches other "avatars" (kids in the FAYZ). It is later shown that his touch destroys their bodies. He's able to see the DNA of kids in the FAYZ. When he realized his touch killed people, he tried changing the DNA instead, which resulted in Taylor not being able to teleport correctly (fusing into random objects and only teleporting part of her body, which nearly kills her), making her skin gold, and turning her into a reptile which Lana cannot heal.

Back at Lake Tramonto, Sam sets off with Dekka,James, Jack, and Brianna to secure the container of missiles down by the beach. Sam checks and finds out that not only are all except one of the missiles gone, but the remaining missile is booby trapped. They activate the trap safely so no one can get hurt. Sam suspects Caine of taking them. Astrid arrives with the news of the stain, which by now almost everyone knows of. She waits in Sam's room for him to come back and finds her old nightgown. Once Sam comes back from trying to retrieve the missiles, he meets Astrid again. They kiss and make love. Later, Edilio, James, Sam, Astrid and Dekka attempt to measure its growth, but are unsuccessful due to its fast acceleration. Quinn is protesting that Penny is an unfair way to punish kids and wants her killed. Until then he and his crews sit strike. Albert attempts to negotiate with Caine about the situation. Caine goes to Penny and tries to work a deal out, but she drugs him. Sam tries to prepare for when the barrier goes completely dark but knows that his plan is likely to fail. The Gaiaphage commands Drake to bring him Diana. Drake sets off to find her, but is distracted with Howard. He chokes Howard to death. Mohamed, a boy who had set out to deliver Sam's note containing his plans for when the black stain engulfed the FAYZ wall to Caine, notices Drake and runs off to warn them. They go into lock down, and Sam sends Brianna off to find Drake, but instructs her not to fight. Drake finds out she is looking for him and hides. Later, Caine wakes up and finds his hands plastered in concrete. In the middle of the night, after she and Sam make love a second time, Astrid grabs the note and is ready to bring it to Caine, although tempted to just stay in bed with Sam. However, Dekka catches her. Astrid gags and bounds Dekka, but Dekka agrees to not tell for a little while after being convinced by Astrid. Astrid makes it out into the forest and sets out for Perdido Beach. Sam is furious when he discovers she ran away. Dekka and Sam argue whether it is safe to send Brianna off after her, and eventually agree it is best to just let her bring the note.

Meanwhile, Albert takes 3 girls with him to the island, seeing that is the only way to live once the barrier is completely black. Albert has stolen the missiles to defend the island from kids who he suspects will try and reach the island. Caine's hands are encased in concrete and Penny has stapled a crown to his head. She drags him to where his part of town meets and makes him dance in front of the crowd. Kids try and step in for Caine, but Penny tortures them with her visions. Soon, Lana knows that if she doesn't step in and intervene in the pandemonium, kids will start to die. So she tells Penny to leave Caine alone, threatening to shoot her if she doesn't walk away. Penny laughs it off and turns her visions on Lana, but Lana is immune to them due to her time with the Gaiaphage. Penny leaves, and Lana grants temporary control of Perdido Beach to Quinn while Caine recovers. She sends Sanjit and Max with a note for Sam saying that Diana is in danger because the Gaiaphage wants her baby.

Back at Lake Tramonto, Drake threatens to drown Justin unless Diana goes into the boat he wants her in. She agrees, but her and Justin are rowed out to the lake. Drake, Diana and Justin run into Jack, but only Jack is there is time to attempt to rescue her and Justin. Drake whips Jack and Jack is bleeding to death before Sam and Dekka bring him back to the boat and Roger, whom Edilio is dating, sews up his neck.Sam is angry because Brianna is supposed to be on guard for things like this, and he doesn't know where she is. Brianna is out hunting Drake, unaware that he has Diana and Justin and is taking them to the Gaiaphage. The dark stain has almost completely engulfed the barrier, leaving only a ring of light at the very top. Sam begins to light Sammy Suns on his boats. In Perdido Beach the light a giant bonfire and tell kids to remain calm. While Dekka is out searching for Brianna, Brianna runs into her. Brianna doesn't understand why Dekka won't talk to her and they fight over it until Dekka starts to punch Brianna. She backs off and Brianna feels bad, so she apologizes, saying "I'm only a kid." Dekka realizes she shouldn't feel the way she does about Brianna because Brianna is only a kid. Brianna also says she doesn't have any serious feelings towards Jack. They make up, and set out to find and kill Drake and then rescue Diana. Brianna catches up with Drake and Diana, and tries to slow them down so that Dekka can reach them and they can fight.

However, Penny runs into them and turns her visions on Brianna, and then teams up with Drake and follows him to see the Gaiaphage. Penny also gives her visions to Dekka. Then the barrier is completely dark and no one can see anything, and large groups of kids set off in the dark to reach Lake Tramonto. Dekka never reaches Brianna because she can not see. Brianna can't run because she might trip and break all of her bones. So she slowly travels to the mine entrance. Once she arrives, she shoots Brittney and shoots Penny's shoulder. Diana is having her baby, and Brianna delivers it. The baby heals Penny, and then brainwashes Brianna into believing the Gaiaphage is a crib and Brianna lays the baby onto the Gaiaphage. Diana names the baby Gaia, and it is a girl. Brianna runs back to Justin and starts making her way to Perdido Beach to find Sam. Dekka runs into Orc and they both head back to Perdido Beach too. Diana is trapped with Drake and Penny and the Gaiaphage. The Gaiaphage is now Gaia, and Diana can not bring herself to murder her baby. They set out back to Perdido Beach, following Gaia's instructions.

Caine, Lana, Sam, James, Shaun and Quinn team up to kill the Gaiaphage, waiting at Perdido Beach, hidden. Sam finds Astrid and tells her to run away back to town so she won't get hurt. Once they arrive Penny stuns Sam and Caine with her visions, and they get away to the barrier's edge. Gaia sees that Sam is trying to kill them, so she stretches Sam out until he is almost dead. Caine throws a rock at the baby and Sam is freed. But the baby smashes Caine against the barrier and Penny tortures Sam.James and Shaun takes down Drake. Sam burns Penny, and then burns Gaia, thus releasing Caine. Caine kills Penny, but Gaia isn't killed. Meanwhile, a nuclear explosion goes off below the FAYZ wall. The wall absorbs the energy and is strengthened, stopping it from coming down. Instead, the wall becomes transparent. The people on the outside are watching as Sam is thrown into the air by Gaia. He shoots Gaia with his powers and she drops him, but Dekka has just arrives and uses her powers to catch Sam. Sam burns Gaia, but she gets away. The people on the outside are stunned, watching Sam burn Gaia and seeing dead Penny. Brianna can see now so she zooms back to town and poses for the people, which breaks the tension for Sam, Astrid, Caine, Dekka, James, Shaun and Quinn, who turn to go back to town, since Gaia, Diana, and Drake are leaving and heading back to the desert.

## Light

Two days after the events of *Fear*, Gaia and Diana survive out in the deserts of the FAYZ, living off scraps of food that Drake, under orders, scavenge for them. Gaia is undergoing a steady healing process after the attack from Sam and Caine left her severely wounded.

Meanwhile, Sam and Astrid are attempting to maintain order at Lake Tramonto after the now transparent FAYZ Wall attracts the kids of the FAYZ in hopes of reuniting with their parents. Food production grinds to a halt, and in Perdido Beach, Caine begins to lose control of a workforce that refuse to do anything except gawk at the outside world. The media attempts to interview the FAYZ residents through electronic signs and communication; an interview with Brianna reveals the true nature of life inside the FAYZ and the world outside begins to realize the true horrors within. Irritated at Brianna's reckless behavior, Sam and Astrid send her out patrolling to keep her out of trouble. Edilio, in an attempt to strike first, asks Sam to travel to Perdido Beach with him in order to attempt a truce with Caine. Caine, bored and frustrated, refuses until Edilio and Sam subdue him long enough to convince him to help. Leaving Edilio in charge of Perdido Beach, Caine and Sam head off into the wilderness in hope to find and kill Gaia, and, in Caine's case, rescue Diana.

In the desert, Brianna runs into Drake, and using her Bowie Knife, catches him unaware and slices him into many pieces. Taunting him, she spreads his body parts around the FAYZ, locking them in cars and throwing them into the ocean. Victorious, she takes his severed head to Lake Tramonto to show Astrid and Dekka - who lock the head away in a container, weigh it down with rocks, and throw it into the lake.

With the absence of Drake, Gaia grows ever more hungry. It is revealed that all trace of the once human child Gaia, now inhabited by the Gaiaphage, is utterly destroyed - though the body itself is in constant danger and can be killed through a united effort. Gaia tells Diana that she holds a connection to the strange, cororpeal world that the mutations and powers of the FAYZ exist in. In essence - Gaia has access to all powers, Light, Speed, Telekinesis, Healing, etc. She reveals that the powers exist as a two-way connection - by killing a mutant, she cuts off access to that power and can thus no longer use it herself. Unfortunately, Little Pete is too powerful for her to directly control, and she states that in order to prevent him from taking a body to stop her, she must kill the entire population of the FAYZ in order to destroy him and bring down the wall.

Later, Diana and Gaia stop near a part of town. Outside that area, a man (who is later revealed to be named Alex Mayle) attempts to climb part of the wall using a ladder. Still hungry, Gaia mentally "hits" little Pete in order to weaken the barrier long enough for the man to fall through the barrier. He is attacked by Gaia, who rips off his arm, then cooks it so she can eat. Little Pete grows angry at this act, for, as he puts it, "it is not okay to hit". Worried, Gaia hastens to Lake Tramonto in order to begin her massacre.

On the outside, Nurse Connie Temple attempts to contact Astrid or Edilio in order to prepare the kids inside for the behaviour of the outside world. Protests and polls spring up against trying to break down the wall, prosecuting the children inside and killing the inhabitants with a bigger nuclear bomb than that used in *Fear*. A video of Gaia eating Alex's arm is released onto the internet, and public opinion radically shifts. Unable to contact anyone, Dahra Baidoo offers to take Connie's message to Astrid, and travels to Lake Tramonto. She is attacked by coyotes after spraining her ankle en route and saved by Orc, who carries her the rest of the way. Back in Perdido Beach, Edilio asks Quinn to retrieve Albert from the Island. After some persuading, Albert returns and forces the parents and media to stay away from the barrier, leaving blunt signs that outlay the consequences: stay and watch and the kids will die, or leave and let them work. He gives them times to come see them, and the adults and children both abide by these.

Under the cover of night, Gaia reaches the lake and begins a mass slaughter on the unprepared and defenseless residents using Sam's power of light. She kills several children, including Dahra who dies in an explosion, and Justin, as well as injuring Roger, who is now Edillio's boyfriend.James starts shooting at Gaia and engages her but he is no match. James is thrown into the lake and lays unconsious. Many die defenseless until Brianna manages to subdue Gaia, though she is terribly wounded in doing so. Gaia, unable to kill Brianna for fear of losing the speed power, hurting her severely instead, retreats, bleeding and shocked that she could be defeated. The wounded load onto the lake's only working car and head for Clifftop Hotel, whilst the remaining survivors head on foot to Perdido Beach. Sam and Caine follow the smoke to Gaia, who defeats them easily, using her mental "hooks" in Caine to send him into a madness. She starts a fire in order to force the FAYZ residents into Perdido Beach to make it easier for them to kill. Sam and Caine give chase again, and in anger, Gaia breaks Sam's spine and forces Caine to be her prisoner, threatening him with the intense mind pain she can cause in those who have been in prior contact with her.

At Clifftop, Lana and Sanjit manage to heal Taylor with the help of Sinder's power with plants. Taylor regains her mind and bounces away, whilst the wounded of Lake Tramonto, including Diana, beg for Lana's aid. Little Pete reaches out to Taylor and partially heals her golden skin condition, apologized for changing her and asking for her help to fight the Gaiaphage. Diana reveals what she knows of her daughter to Astrid, Lana and Edilio. A town meeting is called and come to realization the FAYZ residents have two options: convince Little Pete to take a living human sacrifice to kill Gaia, or kill Sam and Caine in order to cut off Gaia's most dangerous weapons in hopes of defeating her. Astrid and Diana silently ask for Little Pete to take them in order to save the FAYZ children.

Lana begs for Edilio to attack the Gaiaphage whilst it is recovering, and Edilio sets up an ambush. Gaia walks into Dekka's gravity trap, though using her combined powers she nearly kills Dekka. James and Edilio start shooting and fighting Gaia but they get knocked down.Shaun jumps in and engages Gaia but the tussle leaves Shaun down and Gaia standing. Orc also gets defeated by Gaia. Brianna, rushing out to help before she is fully healed, almost single-handedly kills Gaia. Gaia, though her inability to go faster than Gaia and her injuries allow Gaia to defeat Brianna and use Sam's light to burn out her heart. No longer having access to the power of speed, Gaia retreats, leaving Dekka, Jack, Shaun, James, Caine, Orc and Edilio to grieve over Brianna's body.

Back at the lake, Connie Temple and the media see the debris of the massacre and begin to lose hope. Alex Mayle, having been left behind at the lake, find's Drake's head in the water and is convinced to bring it to Gaia, who severs Alex's head and reattaches Drake's also providing him with a new and more powerful arm. Drake convinces Gaia to let him find Astrid, who allows him to, under the hope of having a hostage personal to Little Pete.

Taylor finds a mangled and broken Sam on the highway and at his request, gets Quinn to take him to Lana. Lana heals him, though the process is slow, and Astrid updates Sam on what is happening. Horrified at how Gaia is using his power and at Brianna's death, Sam walks out alone to face Gaia, knowing that if he cannot defeat her, he will sacrifice himself to prevent her from using his power. Gaia defeats him easily and binds him in burning chains after Sam tries (unsuccessfully) to kill himself. Victorious, Gaia marches on Perdidio Beach, using telekinesis dragging an imprisoned Sam behind her.

In order to fight Gaia, Caine reveals to Diana that he has asked Little Pete to take him if the plan goes bad, and pushes her away in a boat in order to keep her away from the fight. Meanwhile, with Sam gone, Drake captures Astrid and begins to whip her with his arm. Astrid begs silently for Sam, and stalls Drake long enough to get close to him and bite down on his nose. After enough force, she bites his nose clean off before Taylor appears, sent by Little Pete to help her.

With Sam injured and Caine missing, Gaia begins an easy slaughter on Perdido Beach. Edilio and the remaining powers fight a last stand against her and Jack, who at first was unwilling to fight, steps up long enough to save Sam from his chains but is killed by a stray bullet. Losing Jack's power of strength, Gaia flees into the church where she is greeted by Dekka, who narrowly loses the fight. Edilio faces Gaia and loses the fight. Gaia heads for the FAYZ barrier where many kids have escaped the massacre. Her beams of light manage to cut through the weakened barrier due to Little Pete's "fading" state, killing adults on the outside as the helpless world watches on.

Orc, who had stayed away from the barrier for fear of being seen, manages to save the remaining children long enough for Caine to arrive. Gaia is shielded by Caine's missile from Orc's body, which is blasted apart.Shaun stages a final attack on Gaia to avenge Orc and injures her but Shaun is no match and is killed by Gaia. Left with no other option, Caine asks Little Pete to take over his body. It is revealed that the Gaiaphage itself created the mutations by its very presence, and Little Pete, most vulnerable due to his damaged state, became the Gaiaphage's own created nemesis. Not knowing what he was doing during the meltdown, Little Pete created the barrier as a method of protection against the noise, the grown-ups and, unknowingly, the Gaiaphage itself, however, as he uses the Gaiaphage to create the barrier, therefore needing it to be destroyed to take the FAYZ wall down.

With the world as witness, Gaia and Caine (Little Pete) open fire on each other. The two disintegrate, and with the ultimate death of Little Pete and the Gaiaphage, the FAYZ wall comes down. The residents of the FAYZ flee from the oncoming fire, though Sam, noticing Astrid's whip wounds, runs back to confront Drake. In an effort to burn him with his light, Sam finds he cannot use his power due to the death of the Gaiaphage. Coming to this realization, Drake's transplanted head falls from his body and Sam tosses it into the flames before leaving the FAYZ forever.

Over the next few weeks and months, a lot of things happen. In his letter Caine takes all credit for actions in the FAYZ, claiming to have a secret power that he used to manipulate them into crime, hence wiping all the kids' records. When it turns out Roger is really alive, Edilio asks his parents to meet him. Sam, while locked up in a hospital, confronts his mother finding out that his dad was a part of the Gaiaphage. He escapes using a cell phone to text Quinn, escapes to see Astrid. Appearing at the back of the room during a meeting with Jennifer Brattle and Todd Chance, Astrid runs at Sam from the stage, resulting in a kiss and embrace that lasts a long time. Sam, wanting to live with Astrid, has his mother emancipate him, so he and and Astrid can legally live together. In the end, Astrid and Sam invite Diana to live with them. Later, Sam tells Astrid that although his mother didn't believe it, he really is Taegan Smith's son. Sam, Astrid, Diana, Quinn, Edilio, and the rest of them travel to Australia ( James stays in America) where they settle down and find a way to bring their fallen comdrades back...

## Deaths

* Bette - Blow to the head with a baseball bat by Orc due to her displaying her power. Internal bleeding from this eventually resulted in her death.
* Tanner Donegal - Killed by a coyote in the daycare.
* Little fire starter - Died in the apartment building fire that she started accidentally.

* Drake - Buried alive by along with the Gaiaphage. Later, Drake becomes undead.
* Brittney - Shot by Drake. Later becomes undead.
* Duck - Buried himself alive in an attempt at self-sacrifice to destroy the Gaiaphage.
* Chunk - Thrown into a wall by Caine
* E.Z. - Eaten by zekes when he attempted to pick a cabbage.
* Harry - Accidentally had his brain microwaved by Hunter who was angry at Zil and couldn't control his power.
* Mickey Finch - Shot by Drake's henchmen in their attempt to take control of the power plant.
* Josh - Shot by Drake

* Antoine - Has a hole burnt in him by Sam and is left to die.
* Hank - Slammed against the seabed by Caine
* Nerezza - Burned by Sam and disappears.
* Orsay - Strangled by Nerezza as Orsay is being distrustful of her.
* Panda - Suicide by car crash.
* Zil - Fell to his death due to Dekka cancelling her power to kill him.

* Hunter - Euthanized by Sam via burning due to the bugs hatching from him
* Jamal - Eaten by a bug.
* Lance - Executed by Caine for trying to kill Albert.
* Little Pete - Destroyed his own body out of panic because Astrid threw him to the bugs. However, he retained consciousness as a god-like figure looking
* Roscoe - Eaten by bugs from the inside out.

* Bonnie - Body disfigured by Little Pete.
* Cigar - Eaten by zekes when he wandered into a field.
* Francis - Died after the J waves disconnected.
* Mary Terrafino - Died after the J waves disconnected.
* Howard - Strangled by Drake so that the coyotes could have food.
* Jaden - Blow to the head by Cigar using a spiked table leg.
* Jonesie - Body disfigured by Little Pete.
* Keira - Mauled by coyotes.
* Tabitha- Mauled by coyotes.
* Mason - Mauled by coyotes.
* Penny - Blow to the head by Caine using a slab of concrete.
* Benno - Presumably killed when the J waves disconnected.
* Andrew - Presumably killed when the J waves disconnected.

* Alex Mayle - Decapitated by Gaia.
* Brianna Berenson - Heart burned out by Gaia.
* Caine - Sacrificed his body to Little Pete and then was incinerated by Gaia.
* Orc - Accidentally blown up by a missile that Caine fired at Gaia.
* Dahra Baidoo - Killed in an explosion by Gaia in the Lake Tramonto massacre.
* Gaia - Burned by Little Pete.
* Jezzie - Killed by Gaia in the Lake Tramonto massacre.
* Justin - Burned by Gaia in the Lake Tramonto massacre.
* Jack - Accidentally shot
* Peter Ellison - Burned by Gaia

* Shaun - Killed by Gaia while trying to avenge Orc
* Max - Killed by Coyotes while trying to save Sanjit and Mason