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Michael winces as he coughs and then laughs The bullet ht be able to get up off the bed I lift my bow and pull an arrow

He s what I created Be the leader you naturally are I’ve had everyone call you the phoenix, in preparation for you to be the one to take my place"

"So it was you that started the stupid nicknaant bastard Granny and Graht about you Not worth the price of spit was how Granny always said it"

His eyes narrow

I shakethe arrow into the bow, "You didn’t make me, Michael God did You donated sper, but my mother and Lenny, Granny, and Leo made me I am what I am because of them You had no hand in that I don’t have to be the ht " I smile peacefully, "And you aren’t God, asshole You’re dead"

He opens his mouth, but I release the first arrow into his shoulder, " staring at the pupil of his eye as the second arrow pierces it

Star switches off the light and opens the bedroomShe waves at renade inside, "Give me yours"

I pull it out and pass it to her

We can hear the footsteps on the stairs of people co his ass back froe Star leaps out the , "Run!" We sprint in the dark to the back of the house She drops down onto the roof of the pantry and then onto the ground Leo and me follow her into the woods We run as fast as we can I hear a gun cock behind us My back tenses, waiting for the bullet to hit, but instead, I hear a whistle and so in the woods I look back, but I can’t see what it was

We get a little further along to see Jake holding a bow and quiver, standing on a sturins, "Now that was an impressive shot Duht reflected off of it"

I smile, shocked and impressed Mitch steps up onto the stump and shakes his head, "Gihs quietly, "I totally had you fooled Even Leo bought that one You all owefor that"

We saddle up and look at the house Star raises the rifle, sighting it in and takes a breath On the exhale she fires The whole mansion explodes

We stand there stunned as the camp erupts into fla The entire property becomes a war zone of fire and screams

Star kicks her horse into a fast run

Mitch looks stunned, "What the hell was that?"

She looks back, "Bernie was paranoid He never wanted his work to fall into the hands of the wrong people"

It makes a smile break across my face, but then I remember what he said about Nick I bootback at theet the o back first"

Jake looks at me from his saddle and shouts, "WHAT?"

I point, "NICK IS A MOLE! WE GOTTA GO BACK FIRST!"

He winces and I see his lips form the word shit It’s our favorite I think

Chapter Fifteen

We reach the guard platfor No one is in the tree

I feel sick as I round the corner and no one is in the yard Of the nearly fifty people we left there, no one is around

I leap fro into the house

"ANNA, WILL!" No one answers

Jake, Star and Mitch are doing the same We meet back in the yard but there is no one

The yard and house are e myself in the forehead; Anna can’t yell I push her door out of the way and stop when I see the bloody rip the wooden frame of the door, stunned and disturbed as a thousand possibilities run through my mind

Jake drops to his knees when he reaches the room His face is buried inhard for the doorway, to where Star is staring across the field, pointing

I see the group of the across the field They look solemn and sad Nick is in the front with Will and Anna

I break into a run, but I don’t stand a chance against Jake They see us as we run, but they don’t look excited about seeing us I see nore the

Anna wheezes and screams as Will tries to pull him off of Nick He has lost his mind Will and some of the others wrestle hirabs me, "I lost the baby He didn’t hurt me" She knoe saw in her rooh raveyard"

My lip creeps out as tears start to fill my eyes Star starts to cry It’s the last piece of Bernie, gone forever