Blake

Blake is one of the original members of the Dust, as well as Peck's best friend. Although Blake and Peck don’t always see eye to eye, Blake remains loyal and helps lead the Dust in Peck’s absence.

Biography
Blake grew up in a Marked family in Spokie, but as he neared Pledging age, he became suspicious of the Marking procedure. Instead of registering for his Pledge, twelve-year-old Blake ran away. He found a home among the Markless on Slog Row, where he met Daniel Peck, who became his best friend. When Peck formed the Dust, Blake served as his right-hand man, often doing most of the groundwork for the group’s missions. It was Blake who kept DOME from killing Peck’s friend Trenton outright, and Blake who followed Logan during the months before Logan’s Pledge.

Swipe
"“She’s autistic, Blake. And it’s severe. You can’t fix that with patience.” “No. But you can have patience with it.” —Blake and Jo"

Blake, now fourteen, first appears as the viewpoint character during Meg Steward's kidnapping. He is responsible for watching Logan and convincing him to come to the playground, but, because of his hesitation, he leaves the invitation note one week late. During that one week, Logan meets Erin Arbitor, and, as a result, the playground meeting fails. At that point, Blake backs off in watching Logan, since Logan has seen him twice. When Logan and Erin track the Dust outside of town, Erin hits Blake in the head with a taser bean, knocking him unconscious, although the bean caused no permanent injuries.

Blake heads the kidnapping of Dane Harold. While the rest of the Dust go inside the concert building to knock Dane out backstage, Blake keeps watch outside. When Logan and Erin follow them to the Fulmart, Blake jumps out and grabbs Erin in order to allow the rest of the Dust enough time to escape. DOME arrives within a few minutes, and Erin's father, Charles Arbitor, pins Blake to the floor and demands to know Peck's location. Blake is refusing to tell him when Meg Steward hits Mr. Arbitor over the head, allowing Blake to disappear into the store.

Blake and the Dust are outside of town when Joanne brings the news that DOME is planning to clear Slog Row. Despite Joanne's fears for his safety, Blake runs back to the Row, warning the Markless to flee the area. Finding six-year-old Rusty hiding in a closet, Blake throws a towel over both their heads and slips out the back door with him. Blake is present at Peck's eventual interview with Logan.

Sneak
"I give Mr. Dome Agent here another hour before he comes to. Tops." --Blake

After the events of Swipe, Blake is left frustrated and suspicious of Logan, who disappeared after escaping his Pledge. He believes that Peck's continued contact with Hailey in hopes of locating Logan is likely to lead to trouble. When Hailey brings Logan to the Dust's farmhouse hideout, Blake and the others respond angrily, demanding an explanation for Logan's carelessness in telling Erin the location of Peck's book warehouse. Circumstances prove that Blake's fears were correct: DOME agents storm the farm, killing the caretaker and forcing the Dust to flee yet again.

Peck wants to take the group to Beacon City, now that Logan has told him where Lily was taken. Blake and the rest of the Dust object to the logic of the idea, thinking that Peck's love for his old friend is taking precedence over his judgment. Blake challenges Peck over the idea of going to Beacon City, but when Peck presents an ultimatum, telling Blake to either accept their destination or leave, Blake chooses to stay.

Blake assists in planning the Acheron prison break-in. When the initial plan fails, he helps rescue Logan and Joanne from Acheron.

Storm
"'That's right, buddy. We'll find him next time.' --Blake"

Blake remains behind in Beacon City as Peck drives Erin, Logan, and Hailey on their trip west. With Joanne's help, he leads the Dust in Peck's absence. His primary task is to keep Tyler alive. Tyler hopes that instigating the IMPS will bring his best friend Eddie out of Acheron, allowing the Dust to mount a rescue. Unfortunately, Tyler's plans don't work. They do, however, result in Blake's getting caught by Charles Arbitor, together with Tyler and Shawn. Mr. Arbitor, Erin's father, brings Blake and the rest of the Dust to his apartment, asking them to help him contact Erin in Sierra City.

Blake participates in the Dust's sweep of DOME headquarters in search of the activation protein that caused Erin to contract the Project Trumpet virus. He spends much of the rest of the book trying to keep the Dust from wrecking the Arbitors' living room.

Spark
Logan, observing Beacon City through the Ultranet, sees Blake with Joanne in the streets of Beacon City, engaging the Marked in conversation. Accompanied by Meg and Rusty, they tell people about their experiences with the Dust, trying to expose Cylis for who he is. Blake and Jo evidently have become Christians since Logan last saw them, and they try to share Christianity, as well. Most of the Marked ignore them, but a few listen to what they have to say.

Physical Appearance
Blake is seventeen years old and underweight. As a result of the Markless lifestyle, he has often been dirty as well.

Personality
Blake can be very intuitive: he recognized the danger in the Marking process, although, unlike Peck, he had not known someone who flunked. Life on the streets has taught Blake to be tough, but Blake also has a more sensitive side, which he showed when he rescued Rusty. Blake's sense of humor helps him to put up with Eddie and Tyler's shenanigans. Even Blake has his limits, however, and Joanne sometimes has to intervene when he and the other boys get into an argument. Blake also struggles to forgive Logan for telling Erin about Peck. He helps orchestrate the Acheron break-in out of loyalty to Peck, not because he believes in the mission itself.

Skills
Blake exhibits remarkable stealth as he follows Logan, although, as Logan gets more paranoid, Blake does get seen twice. He shows ingenuity, using various means to spy on Logan, including using a tin can and fishing line to listen to conversations in Logan's bedroom. He is also good at planning ways to upset the IMPS that will simultaneously keep Tyler from being arrested.