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He nodded, let go of her, and left the store The door shut behind hi violently, her teeth chattering Katie gently lead her along, trying not to think too hard of the sweaty, greasy feel of the woman’s skin

"Nerit!"

The older woman appeared at the top of the stairs and exclaimed,

"Laura!" and rushed down to the under the uide the catatonic girl up the stairs

"But Ralph…"

"She’s in shock She probably gave no indication that she was hiding in there She just kept watching the security tape of her brother dying over and over again"

"…not fast…enough…" Laura whispered

Nerit coughed on the harsh sirl, then whispered, "It’s okay, Laura You’re safe now"

Laura did not even glance in Nerit’s direction

Together, they got the girl up the stairs and into a shower They put her in fully clothed Her dress was plastered to her skin with her own urine and excre over the girls eed as happening She just clung to the VCR tape and the re, "…not fast…enough…"

Once the water ran clear, Katie and Nerit undressed the girl They both winced at her wizened body Her ribs stood out sharply and her pelvis stuck out harshly beneath her pale skin Nerit and Katie didn’t speak as they worked on bathing the girl Cleaning her up with clinical aloofness it was if they both could not allow themselves to feel the sheer horror of this woman’s mental and physical condition

Finally, when they were done, they dressed her in one of Nerit’s nightgowns and gently guided her to the kitchen The entire tiirl did not release the tape or the remote control

"Sit down, Laura," Nerit said softly

The woirl and finally let herself feel the brutal reality of it all The girl had been starving to death slowly since this had all begun While she and Jenni had taken refuge with Nerit and Ralph, this girl had been in that office It ful, terrible, and Katie felt guilty that she was relieved that she was not this young wo in her hand She opened it and spooned a little out "Laura, it’s ti her, and opened her er had finally irl She watched Nerit tenderly shovel a little bit into the girl’s irl slowly closed her htly For some reason, it was too much to bear "I need a breather" Katie stood

Nerit nodded "I know You go I will stay with her"

Katie walked out of the kitchen and out onto the balcony She stood there, gripping the railing, taking deep breaths She felt like a bitch, but she couldn’t deal with this right now She just couldn’t Yet she couldn’t just stand out here and not do anything at all

Moving through the living rooed her rifle and went downstairs to help the men load the pallet They were surprised to see her, but she simply said, "I need to help" and no one protested She ian to help pack up the boxes with supplies while Ralph stood watch over the street

Everything was boxed, labeled and taped shut Once the load was done being packed onto the pallet, they began securing it doith ropes, a large hunting net, nails and wire By the ti off the thick pallet Travis had made it complete with a thick, heavychains in all four corners They all connected to a large metal loop Katie knew that the plan was to hook the pallet unto the crane’s hook back at the fortress and use it basically as an elevator to lift them all up and over the wall

She had felt leery about this plan at first, but seeing what Travis had concocted, she felt a bit more secure

As they walked inside, Travis took hold of her arm and drew her back

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sure…" Katie started to pull away, but Travis held firether, then sighed "That girl…Jenni was like her in the beginning Staring ahead, not talking, just blank Then she snapped out of it"

Travis flinched "Oh"

"I see what Jenni could have been in that girl If she hadn’t run outside but had holed up in a bathroohtly and kissed her forehead very tenderly "But Jenni’s okay"

Katie closed her eyes and nodded "It’s sheer luck, Travis You,okay We were just lucky to get to safety

We could have all been Laura"

His fingers were very tender as he stroked her hair, trying to calm her

"Yes, but that reverend saved you and you saved Jenni"

"And you saved us," Katie added She fastened her gaze on hiile It hurts so deep I can’t bear to think too far, too much, of what it would be like to lose…" She faltered<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>