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"Stay and die," Timas says calmly, "or run and live Your choice" He sets off, Prae Athi on Stephen The other two are forcing Shark further back There are no ht, apart from the befuddled fee first spotted But it&039;s surely a matter of seconds rather than ate the explosion and howls

I findbefore I consciously make the decision, my feet one step ahead of ave us an order to run We&039;d be fools if we ignored hili with one olf, while keeping the other at bay with his knife, backing up into the shadows of the tunnel, conceding ground reluctantly, stubbornly Then the dust from the explosion enfolds and obscures hi therab Meera and flee after Timas and Prae It seems hopeless without Shark I was sure he&039;d be the last of us to fall Without hi and the rest of us owe it to hiive it our best shot If we fail, we should at least die valiantly-like Shark

The scent of the sea thickens inme towards it There are howls behind us The olves have found our trail again But we&039;ve worked up a solid lead We have half a chance

"This is it," Tiet to the top it&039;s a sixty ive or take a few metres" He sneaks a quick look back His brow creases and his large eyes narrow "We won&039;t make it They&039;ll catch us"

"We have to try," I cry, lungs bursting, legs aching

"So fire," he says "I&039;ll stop at the top and make my last stand"

"No!" Meera shouts "We&039;ve lost too many already"

"We&039;ll all die if I don&039;t," Tiasps She&039;s lagging a few paces behind the rest of us "I&039;m the slowest Besides, they&039;re my olves"

"I&039;m a better shot," Timas says "This is my job It makes more sense for me to stay"

"What the hell," Prae wheezes "Let&039;s both do it and die together"

"As you wish" We&039;re almost at the top Timas slaps my back "One last push and you&039;re there Don&039;t slow or look back Run, jump, swim Meera" She looks around "I&039;m sorry I won&039;t be able to claim that kiss you promised"

"Don&039;t worry," Meera says "I lied I wouldn&039;t have kissed you anyway" The tall !"

Tiain With a cheerful wave he stops, turns, swings his rifle round and opens fire Glancing over my shoulder, I see Prae halt, drop to her knees, take aier, enhancedthe pack

I mount the crest of the rise after Meera The clifftop lies enticingly ahead of us, the sixty-odd metres away that Timas calculated My heart leaps into make it! I don&039;t care if we perish e dive, if the tide&039;s out, or if we&039;re driven under by vicious currents At least on&039;t die here on this cursed, savage island of

Werewolves Streaht They&039;ve split into two groups and flanked us The suessed our plan Rather than waste themselves on Timas and Prae, they branched around As atch in horror, they dart ahead of us and form a barrier across the top of the cliff, two or three bodies deep Some remain to the sides, to ensure we don&039;t veer off

We coun at the creatures ahead of us, then does a quick headcount and lets it drop She looks ather, but I haven&039;t the energy With incredible weariness we half-crouch and cross our ars, surrounded, trapped, waiting for the olves to close in and brutally finish us off