Scorpion Shards by Neal Shusterman Page A

very souls.
    â€œA supernova!” exclaimed Mr. Knapp, the science teacher. “My God! I think it’s a supernova!” He frantically cranked his telescope toward the constellation of Scorpius, then flipped through his astronomy book to identify the star.
    In a matter of minutes, a star in the tail of the scorpion flared to a fourth the size of the moon. Michael and Lourdes stepped out from behind the lighthouse to see everyone crowding around Knapp, who compared his star chart to the heavens above him.
    â€œMentarsus-H!” he announced. “It says here that it’s sixteen light-years away—that means it blew up before most of you were born!”
    Knapp immediately started to explain, “It took all those years for the light of the explosion to reach the earth. Like when you’re in the bleachers at the ball park, you see the player swing, but don’t hear the crack of the bat until a second later. Space is so vast that light takes years to get from star to star. That star blew up over sixteen years ago, but we’re just finding out about it now.”
    While everyone else marveled at this grand cosmic display, Michael and Lourdes lingered beyond the fringe of the crowd—touched by the nova with an intensity none of the others felt. It was as if the light illuminated some part of themselves that had always been hidden in shadows.
    â€œI have to go!” Michael suddenly exclaimed. “I have to go now!” He was already fumbling in his pockets for the keys to his van.
    â€œI have to go with you,” said Lourdes, her eyes filling with tears she could not explain.
    Yes! thought Michael. It had to be the two of them. They were both being drawn away—drawn west. They had to travel west because . . .
    Â . . . Because there were others! Others who were like them.
    The truth came to him as if he had known it all along.
    Michael could imagine them now—all of them looking up at the supernova at this same instant, in places far away.
    â€œI have room in the van for you,” said Michael.
    â€œI have a credit card,” said Lourdes, “if we need money.”
    They hurried toward Michael’s van, as if they could afford no lost time.
    Now those people standing around the telescope and all the other people in their lives seemed meaningless and unimportant.
    Michael turned the key in the ignition with such force the starter screamed as the engine came to life.
    â€œWhere do we go?” asked Lourdes. “How will we know when we get there?”
    But both of them knew there were no answers to such questions. In a moment they were gone, driving west, while their former classmates looked heavenward through a round patch of clear sky that was fixed over Montauk like an eye, staring unblinking into infinity.

Part II
Free Fall

4. THE SHADOW OF DESTRUCTION
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    T HE SPLINTERING OF STONE .
    A deafening rumble as a mountainside pounced upon an unsuspecting neighborhood below. Five homes were destroyed by the massive boulders, and Dillon Cole, his wrecking-hunger now fed, gripped Deanna Chang and collapsed in her arms.
    In the dim light they sat on the mountainside, hearing the shouts from below as neighbors came out to help one another. Through it all, Deanna held Dillon tightly.
    â€œPlease let no one be hurt,” Dillon whispered desperately.
    Deanna had watched in horror as the row of homes on this hill above Lake Tahoe was obliterated. She watched in horror . . . but not in fear. Even now, as she held Dillon, she wasn’t frightened. Her fears, which had been building for hours, vanished the moment Dillon satisfied his wrecking-hunger—and it had been that way every time.
    In the four days since they had run from the hospital in San Francisco, Deanna had stood by as Dillon sent a driverless semi down a ravine; sunk an empty barge on the Sacramento River; and shorted out a switching station, plunging the entire community