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Aria’s eyes watered from the noxious odor that had pered Aria’s head shot up, her nostrils twitching Emily, Hanna, and Spencer widened their eyes They all realized what it was at the sah the vents

"Oh ’s on fire"

Aria rushed to the door and pulled on the knob She turned around fast, her face stricken There was no need to say anything to the others--they already knew The door was locked They were trapped

30

LIFE ENDS WITH A BANG, NOT A WHIMPER

The roo s Eht about breaking the glass, but the bedroom was in the back of the house, which was set on a steep doard slope The jus, if not worse

On the other side of the rooainst the door, trying to break it down When it didn’t give, they collapsed in a heap on the bed, panting

"We’re going to die," Hanna whispered "Ali’s trying to kill us"

"No she’s--" Emily trailed off She was about to say that Ali wasn’t--Ali couldn’t Billy had written that note, posing as Ali And if he hadn’t, then Melissa had Melissa had snickered at the they’d deduced Melissa had killed Ali’s sister Melissa had set this fire Or if not Melissa--or Billy--then someone else

Just not Ali Never Ali

The air was getting so thick with s hard to see Hanna leaned over and started to cough, and Aria let out a woozy moan Spencer ripped the top sheet from the bed and shoved it under the crack in the door to prevent ht in seventh-grade fire safety class "We probably only have a few more minutes in here until the fire reaches the door," she told the others "We have to figure out so fast"

Eainst the closet door Suddenly, she heard a s it, too Ali? E fro sounds Another cry A muffled scream Emily faced the closet "Someone’s in there!"

Spencer shot forward and turned the knob The sed, covering her mouth with the bottom of her shirt

"Oh my God," Spencer shouted Then Emily looked down and screamed louder than she’d ever screamed before A rotted corpse was splayed out in the bottos were bent halfway up the wall at a disfiguring angle, and the head lolled off to the left, resting on top of an Adidas shoe box The skin was a sallow yellow, and there was a horrible waxy substance on as left of the cheeks The skin and muscles around the olden hair looked like a wig, and the forehead swarots

It was Ian Tho and shut her eyes, but the ie see shot forward and touched her foot She shot back and tried to slam the door "Stop!" Spencer screa Spencer pushed around her and pulled another body from the closet, soasped It was a girl, her ly

Everyone helped to untie the thick ropes around her wrists and ankles and pull the duct tape froan to cough Tears streamed down her face She collapsed into Spencer, her sobs tortured and terrified "Are you okay?" Spencer cried

"She kidnapped hed "I woke up a couple ti ain, I was in…" She trailed off, her eyes sliding to the half-opened closet Her face contorted with pain

Then, Melissa sniffed the air The sray haze had begun to swirl Melissa began to shake "We’re all going to die"

Everyone rushed to the center of the room and held one another Emily shivered uncontrollably She could feel soainst hers "It’ll be okay," Spencer repeated over and over in Melissa’s ear "We need to find a way out of here"

"There is no way!" Melissa’s eyes were full of tears "Don’t you see?"

"Wait a minute" Aria leaped to her feet She looked around the room quizzically, her forehead furrowed "I think this is the rooe that leads to the kitchen"

"What are you talking about?" Hanna asked

"Don’t you remember?" Aria cried "We hid in here to scare Jason"

Aria marched to the dresser and shoved it out of the way To Eht of a golden retriever Aria pulled the latch and kicked it open, revealing a dark tunnel Melissa gasped

"Co to her hands and knees and squeezing through the tiny door She dragged her sister through after her Aria went next, then Hanna E body