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Skinny-Smoker was almost on top of Jonesy when Alex took hi him toward the forest border, just ten feet or so outside of where the gravel shoulder had been

We watched his body arc and land with a thud on the slope beneath the trees

They charged us and Onyx sprang forward, going after Skinny-Smoker’s partner

Stocky

They came from behind us as Parker and Stocky advanced

John screarabbedon to the back of h His high keening was bad The ass-end of the gun readying to brainorse

I helddeath energy surged through o with a greatuntil the night was filled with a thousand bugs, evacuating the forest like a gray shroud of death

That’s what they would be for the Graysheets, death in the air, on wings

A great cloud descended toward me and I whispered the command in my mind: throat, ears, nose,to followdown to strike Onyx’s head They infiltrated his nose, choking off his airway The gun fell away, clattering on the pebbled asphalt They swar any of his airways or other orifices Unfortunately, they did the sah the shadowed net of the insects But they slowed his progress and that was all I needed to keep hi for all he orth He was facing off against a Graysheet, the bugs were swirling around his head but couldn’t pierce the invisible shield that he’d erected

The agent was a Null I watched as John began sweating, rivulets of uy was having a tough tiovernment, they’d recruited a five-point

I watched as the other Graysheets fell to their knees, choking on bugs, flailing and spinning their arled to breathe

To survive

Archer inched towards their cars, his hand gliding along the pulse locks of their car I heard the locks snap in coure out

"Caleb!" Jade shrieked

I turned as the first zo th used against me esome (in a bad way)

And it hurt like a bitch

I could feel Parker’s connection to the zo ainst him

"Don’t bother, Caleb They won’t answer you Besides, you can’t control your swar to sit still and listen to what I have to say"

I struggled, frantically looking for Jade

What I saw stopped my breath in my throat Zoainst Bry’s car

"No he’s not you asswipe," Tiff said, latching on to my arm, the only piece of flesh revealed Her fierce bravery drove her to stand perilously close to Parker’s zo its lips off its teeth and I used what Tiff gaveit into the zombie

"Release ered backward, dropping its bone crushing hold and I fell forward into Tiff

"No!" Parker screairls andmine

"Get hio up their asses, Hart! Up Their Asses!"

Really? Terrific idea

The zombie was alrabbing the zorip, Alex said, his glasses long gone, "You owe ht

It was like that old Terminator movie where the two teret to ht process went He latched onto Alex’s forearht as Alex Alex ainst each other Finally, Alex bent down and swung the zo in the direction of the woods He got sufficient momentum and heaved the zombie into a tree There was a dull crunch and snap, the zos were severed, disconnected

"That oughta do him!" Alex said pridefully

He just didn’t understand zombie deter its ar crawl that was so fast it took our breath away

"What the fuck?" Jonesy screa to Sophie "It’s like a zo to let us do our stuff while the Graysheet Null was powering all over the top of hihost

Not funny

I turned too late and Parker had grabbedit in the fist of ht and drove runt

But zombie two had reached my feet and jerked me off them I landed on my back, the wind knocked out of ether on a rattle He used his arht His breath was like old coffin in my face

Bry had his hands buried in the zo for all he orth but the directive fro to be a challenge to break

My breath was co to look around the zoirls

Jade

It was then that I felt a familiar connection

"Mr Weller, please, allowof the zo hi with a deafening crunch on top of the Graysheets’ hood The engine shrieking steam on impact

I looked up at Clyde, his hands planted on his hips, every hair in place, looking like he’d just stepped off his day job

"That was very well done, Clyde," feeling relieved and nonplussed in a confusing slush

He inclined his head but then his face changed, beca position and turned around, looking at Parker "I can get to him, Caleb He’s not all yours Don’t s that swirled just above the surface of his face

Tiff looked at me in horror, could he take Clyde?