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What if I decided to hurt him? What if I attacked him?

As much as I currently disliked him, I couldn’t take the chance

Panicked, I ran in the opposite direction, away fro I ran and never looked back

Chapter 9

Drink Me

Gasping, I jolted upright Panic cloakedupon I was

On the cold, hard ground in front of my old house The house I’d lived in most of my life The house my father had built The house I hadn’t visited since the death of otten here? I’d run from Cole, froht, and then I’dblacked out,else

Now the sun was in the process of rising, though it was hidden behind a thick wall of clouds--one of which was shaped like a rabbit I gulped Looked away The tree swing ardenwas now a pile of rocks

Corrosive acid filled e, all around, here and there and everywhere, re and no one was safe from its clutches

Fa up ofof sweat oncontrol ofworse

Stop! Just stop I wasn’t this girl, wasn’t soed from fire and sharpened by steel In--I inhaled Out--I exhaled In Out Good

So aze traveled up a pair of ballet slippers, stockings, a fluffy tutu and a glittery pink leotard The re panic went head-to-head with a sudden burst of happiness, and, miracle of miracles, the happiness won

"Eathered ht "I can touch you," I said "I can actually touch you" Shock sentbackward "How can I touch you? Am I dead?"

Golden eyes twinkled ed into a smile "You’re in spirit fortails over her shoulders, a fa at Cole’s barn, and your friends are, like, superworried"

The barn That’s right

I didn’t care "I want to stay this way forever" I couldn’t lose the feel of her again

"You can’t Your body will die"

Just then, I didn’t care about that, either "Your point? We’ll still be together"

Her s down at her ballet slippers, she said, "Once we pro to keep that proetting worse every day"

"No" I shook aze ulped "What are they?"

Expression filled with tenderness, she reached up and brushed one side of my face "I told you I would talk to people, and I did But, AliceI don’t think you’re going to like what I learned"

"Tell me anyway" I had to know

"Very well Have you ever heard the story of the two hungry wolves living inside everyfor control In the end, the one that’s fed will end up the winner"

I shook ht inside Anima Industries, when you were stabbed, you had so much zombie toxin inside you the antidote couldn’t eradicate all of it Your spirit was strong enough to fight it, though, keeping that part of you safe, but not your already weakened body And the toxin, well, it was aborn of you Another spirit That hts to live inside you Yours, the hu, she waited for those words to sink in

I wrapped my arms around myself, as if I could protectfor control My s voices The sickening urges I nearly dropped toI’ve become a host to ato azo es Like now I don’t want to bite you"

"That’s true, but you have to think of this as a disease Your huh youright now But because your human spirit, and therefore your body, produces a poison for the zombies, and you now have a zo yourself You’re allergic to yourself and weakening because of it"

"No," I said, shaking ht," she said, and I could tell she was battling tears "The darker side of you is soh to manifest outside you"

No "I’ll use more antidote"

"And that will help in the short term, but it’s not a solution"

"What is?" I croaked

"Idon’t actually know When Justin bit you, he woke this new side of you Breathed life into it"