I took the stairs two at a time, and paused at mom's door. It was open a crack, and when I peered inside the room was empty. My heart sank, and I crept down the hallway as quietly as I could. Sure enough there was a strip of light under the door of Sara's old bedroom. I raised my hand to knock, chickened out and leaned against the door frame for a minute. How was I supposed to talk to her? I'd just told her the truth and she'd flipped out, and now she was crying in my dead sister's bedroom, over the loss of her one obedient child, cursing the single rebellious act that Sarah had indulged in. The one that had cost us so much. I turned and walked into my bedroom instead of going to her.

I was a coward.

I threw together a bag, jeans, a couple pairs of underwear, a few shirts and a toothbrush. I didn't need much else. I scribbled a note for mom on the back of a receipt.

Gone to the church on the hill. Will be back. Love you.

Would I be back? Who knows what would happen at the church on the hill...

We left in an all fire hurry. They loaded my bag into the trunk, shoved me into the back seat of the SUV between Aden and Morgan and we were roaring down the road, the vehicles kicked up huge clouds of dust as we tore past the crumbled structures of the city. One of the beef cake guys, the driver, flicked on the radio, where Aerosmith was wailing, "You're My Angel". 

Go figure.

"So," I said, raising my voice over the music. "I've been meaning to ask, how do the fates choose the replacement? Is there some kind of check list or criteria or something? Do they decide who has the best personality?"

Aden said, "I think it's pretty much whoever they happen to take a liking to."

"So, it's sort of like a cosmic game of spin the bottle?"

Morgan laughed. "That's an accurate description."

I noticed the driver eyeing Morgan in the rear view mirror, and wondered if he objected to a Malake riding along. Aden had certainly objected to her at first.

"Good to know it's organized," I grumbled. "It really makes me wonder about my chances of survival."

The driver snorted. "You're up against Sloan. I wouldn't worry."

I looked at the back of his head incredulously. "The guy is God."

"God's an idiot."

His buddy in the passenger seat, a guy with tight black curls, laughed at that, and even Aden cracked a smile.

Curly added, "I knew that little twerp before the switch. Can't understand for the life of me how he was chosen. Power hungry little bastard."

"You know him before he was God?" I said curiously.

"Sure." Curly turned in his chair to look at me. "The fates switch every thousand years, but we live even longer then that."

"Unless someone kills us," Aden said flatly.

"Okay, Sunshine," I said. "Everyone can die, but at least you get a shot at living way longer."

"You'll get to live for a thousand years," Aden said. She looked out the window then, and a shadow crossed her face.

"And even more if you go back to being human after," Morgan added.

Being human. That shut me up, and it was quiet for awhile. I would cease to be human when the switch happened? And if, when the thousand years were up, I became human again, no one I know now would be alive. Everything would be different, and I would be alone.

Suddenly being chosen didn't seem so great. I glanced out the window as the blackened, rubble filled landscape whipped past. I considered how much it would hurt if I jumped out of the car now. Duck and roll. Then I could go hide somewhere until this whole stupid thing blew over.

"Hm." Beefcake adjusted the rear view mirror. "I think we may have company, guys."

I craned my neck to look out the back window. The black SUV with the remaining suits was right behind us, and right behind them was a white four by four. It was too far away to see the faces of the occupants, but it was safe to say there were three men at least.

"Sloan?" I said, nervously.

Beef Cake's radio crackled to life, the voice on the other end barking something about pursuers on our trail. Beef cake scooped up the transmitter,

"Shake 'em, boys. Split up and we'll meet at the destination point."

The radio crackled an affirmative, and I found myself almost sitting in Aden's lap with Morgan crushing into my side, the tires screeching as we took a sudden turn down a side road. I craned around to stare out the back window. The second SUV stayed on the highway, but our pursuers yanked the wheel and spun off the road after us.

"Still on our tail," I reported.

Then we'll go faster," Beefcake smiled. It was a scary expression.

He jerked the car sideways and I fell onto Morgan this time. Aden grabbed the sleeve of my sweatshirt and hauled me upright."Steady!"

"Thanks." I regained my balance, sitting up to peer behind us again. We were merging back onto the highway now, which was nearly empty. The pavement was cracked, making the SUV vibrate violently on the uneven road. Beefcake whooped as he wove in and out of smashed, over turned cars and I found myself squeezing my eyes shut tight, my hand gripping Aden's knee.

"It's no good," Beefcake was growling into his radio. "Whoever is doing the driving is just too damn good. Can't shake him."

I suddenly had an idea, something I'd seen in car chases on movies, and I leaned forward and stuck out my hand for the radio. Beefcake raised an eyebrow at me, but he handed the mouth piece over."Guys, you're still on the highway, right?" I craned my neck around Morgan, watching for the black SUV. We could see flashes of the highway running parallel to us through the trees.

"We are," a deep voice came through, shot with static. "We see you."

"Great, if we jump back on, do think you can time it so you, um...encounter our pursuers when they arrive back on the highway?"

There was a crackling pause, and then a chuckle. "Bring 'em with you, we'll do the rest."

"Oh, this will be good," Beefcake said briefly, he gave me an approving punch on the shoulder before I sat back, and I tried not to wince. I was pretty sure he'd left a bruise.

"This exit here." Curly indicated an exit coming up fast on our left, and Beefcake twisted the wheel, sending us careening back onto the highway. The white four by four was there, about to merge onto the highway, and then our SUV was right behind us, blocking the four by four, matching its speed.

"Yeah!" Beefcake yelled. "Right on, run 'em off the road!"

I looked back over my shoulder as we sped away, watching the black SUV ram into the side of the four by four, sending it spinning off the road and into the shallow valley that ran alongside the highway.

"That's right!" I did a victory fist pump, and Aden gave me a high five. "Good idea, Lucas."

I grinned. "I happen to be really good at grand theft auto."

"I'm surprised your mother let's you play that." Aden laughed, and I glared at her and admitted, "She doesn't know."

Beefcake was talking into the radio again, telling our companions to meet us at the Church on the Hill once they were "finished"."

I didn't care to ask what that meant.

"Hopefully Sloan has been wounded, or better, he's dead," Aden said.

I straightened in my seat, trying to relax my muscles. Apparently car chases made me tense. There were probably claw marks in the nice leather seats now. Aden glanced at me in amusement.

"What?" I said defensively.

"Are you okay? You were sort of mauling my knee back there."

I groaned. "Sorry."

Aden laughed and patted my leg. "That's okay, I don't mind."

Morgan gave her a sharp look, but she said nothing.