Gone

Every person aged 15 or over simultaneously vanishes from the school in Perdido Beach, causing confusion and chaos among the kids. It is quickly established that the adults have vanished from the entire town. Sam Temple steps up and tries to save a girl from a burning building. She does not survive, but it is revealed that the girl had the power to shoot streams of liquid fire from her hands, which caused the blaze. Not fully understanding the situation he is in, Sam decides to look for Little Pete, the autistic little brother of Astrid.

Along with Astrid Ellison and Quinn Gaither, Sam’s best friend, the group discovers an energy barrier that cuts off the kids from the outside world. Along the way, they find Edilio Escobar, who decides to join them. The group later comes across town bullies: Orc and his sidekick Howard, who have nicknamed the barrier the FAYZ (Fallout Alley Youth Zone). They find Astrid's brother Little Pete in the nuclear power plant (Astrid and Pete's father's workplace) in which there was a major accident 15 years ago when a meteorite hit and caused an explosion, hence why Perdido Beach is nicknamed Fallout Alley. They also find a map of radiation patterns. The fallout radius from the nuclear power plant lines exactly up with the energy barrier. Later, Sam scares Little Pete and Pete uses strange powers to choke Sam. It is revealed Sam has his own powers (he can shoot green-white light from his hands when scared/angry). Astrid reveals she's known about Little Pete's powers for a while, and Sam tells the group he once accidentally used his light to burn off his step father's hand, thinking he was going to attack his mother with a knife.

When the group returns to town, vehicles arrive in Perdido Beach being driven by the students of Coates Academy, a school for the wealthy and troubled, where Sam's mother worked as a nurse. Leading the act is Caine Soren, who gains the townies’ trust by promising better leadership and life. But after using the local church for planning with other elected kids, the building suffers minor damages by a strange force, nearly killing one of the local bullies, Cookie.

Apparently, Caine also has powers. Some of the other kids have powers, but all of them are different. Along with the psychopathic sadist student Drake Merwin, Caine soon takes command by using the local bullies to work for him and making Sam the fire chief because of his previous actions, soon resulting in the beating and death of a townie named "Bouncing Bette", killed by Orc who was unaware of his own strength.

Soon Caine and his lackeys steal Sam’s mother’s laptop and secret chest, and find out a powerful secret between Caine and Sam. They find out that Caine and Sam are fraternal twins and that Caine was given up for adoption soon after his birth.

Meanwhile, a girl named Lana Arwen Lazar is with her grandpa, driving through the desert when the "poof", or disappearance, occurs. The truck falls down a gulch. Lana is badly injured while Patrick, her dog, is mostly fine. Soon a mountain lion attacks Patrick, who was protecting Lana and Patrick is left dying slowly. Lana puts her hand on his neck hoping he will be okay and Lana falls asleep. In the morning she finds Patrick perfectley fine with no injuries. She tries to heal herself, and it works after hours of resting her hands on her injured spots. Her power will later develop to work almost instantly. She soon gets to "Hermit Jim's" shack, but is then captured by a pack of coyotes, led by Pack Leader. The coyotes had been mutated by the FAYZ so that they are now more intelligent and can speak. They take Lana to a strange creature in a mine shaft in the desert, who they call the Darkness. The Darkness orders her to teach the coyotes human ways. She does as they say for a while but eventually escapes back to the shack.

Sam and the gang leave the town when Drake attempts to kill Astrid on Caine's orders. They escape to the far side of the FAYZ. They travel across the desert and encounter mutant rattlesnakes with wings. They meet Lana and become trapped in a shack and attacked by Pack Leader and the coyotes. Sam kills several of the coyotes and flying rattlesnakes.

Meanwhile, Caine and his group return to Coates Academy to witness the disappearance of one of their classmates, discovering that those who vanish are confronted by a monster that takes the shape of those they long to see the most. Sam's gang then meet Lana in the shack, but the shack is set on fire by the coyotes. They manage to escape thanks to Sam, who uses his power at his own will for the first time. However, they are then captured by Drake, who takes them to Coates and shows them what he does to the freaks who oppose Caine. He traps their hands in cement bricks to prevent them using their powers. He "plasters" the gang but Astrid persuades Little Pete to make the cement disappear by attempting to smash his GameBoy with her plastered hands. A brief fight takes place and Sam shoots off Drake's arm.

Sam and the gang, along with the victims of Caine and Drake's evil "plastering" return to town where they attempt to organize the townies to fight Caine. Drake arrives at Lana's and says he wants her to heal his arm. They drive off but the coyotes arrive. The coyotes mutilate Orc, nearly killing him. The coyotes take Lana and Drake to the Darkness which uses Lana's power to give Drake a new arm, shaped like a long red python which he can use as a deadly whip, and he is raging for revenge.

Caine attacks the town with the help of the coyotes and attempts to use the children in the day care as hostages. This is averted when one of the freaks, Taylor, teleports into the center of the room and throws hamburgers in the air. This distracts the coyotes long enough for Dekka (a mutant who can suspend gravity in certain areas) and several others to rescue the children.

Caine then attacks the town center and damages the church considerably. There is a battle between the townies and the Coates kids, who also have the help of the coyotes. Drake is prevented from joining the battle by a newly mutated Orc who has doubled in size and his injuries (all of his body apart from a small patch of his cheek) are covered in a hard substance that looks like wet gravel. He attacks Drake because Drake ordered him to attack a freak who later died of her injuries (Bette). He thinks the gravel is God's punishment for him. Sam and Caine fight in the town square and Sam successfully burns Caine's side. Sam then poofs because Caine waited for their birthday to attack. He is confronted by his mother who tells him to take her hand. Caine then poofs as well and joins Sam and their 'mother'. Caine knows that it is actually a monster due to a experiment he did earlier and refuses. Sam refuses as well, even though he does not know what Caine does, and their mother is revealed as a hideous and bloodthirsty creature. They pop back into reality and Caine retreats from the town.

...Somewhere out in the local desert, Caine follows Pack Leader to the mine and to the Darkness.