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"Going fast as I can" The auger was a red blur, the blades spinning, Eli cranking furiously He eating so much, steam curled from his hair "Soon as I finish this one"

Then we break the ice and hope like heck Hannah gets here soon She chopped again, heard the splintery crack of ice shearing apart Across the snow, fro shriek that sent her heart crari butto decide what to do now that she and Eli hadn’t coain There were nine people-eaters--ten, if you counted the girl she’d seen at the death house The people-eaters didn’t have guns, a plus On the other hand, Eli only had two shots left in his rifle, and her Savage was in its saddle scabbard At first she thought a people-eater ht not knoork it Orat her and Eli didn’t see a poor defenseless horse She was furious and scared right down to her bones and thought, really, if she didn’t end up getting eaten today, it would be a le of steel churning water The steeply curved line of fresh holes were spaced so close they looked like a string of black pearls She’d told Eli to bunch the holes on purpose so the water would bleed between the gaps All it would take for her to break through coood hard chops

"Got it" Eli straightened, breathing hard, then cast a nervous glance at the jigsaw of float ice and the larger, wider crescent of black water beyond the end of the ice shelf "That’s five Think that’s--" His voice faded as he looked back toward shore "Ellie"

She knew before she turned Evidently tired of waiting, the people-eaters were spilling onto the ice "Coer, looped the steel chain around her waist, and snapped the keeper to a clip "Okay, hang ontoto hold if you fall in?"

"Sure," she lied, giving Eli a strained, teary s to try for walleye, and they’re real big Butaside the auger, Eli spread his legs, bent his knees, looped the chain twice around his gloved fists, then nodded "Go"

Leaning over the break, Ellie swung This time, instead of a sploosh, there was a crack She felt the difference i on!" Ellie sang

Then she planted her foot against the far edge and shoved

Bad move They had to move, fast "Wolf" Alex whirled away from Penny; from the man in black and his red stored "Come on, we have to--"

She stopped when she saw the tears Face white as chalk, Wolf was sitting up, but she saw the way he grabbed that left ankle, and knew "No No no no" She floundered through slush to grab his are and pain "Listen to me," she said "It may not be as bad as you think Coet clear, I’ll wrap or splint it I’ve got plenty of supplies But you have to get up, you have to--"

Wolf shook his head They were close enough that when his scent became Chris’s--not only coolwere unmistakable

"Don’t do this" Her eyes suddenly burned with furious tears "Wolf, they’ll kill you They’ll take Penny But if we can fight"

This time, when he shook his head, he also reached a tentative hand For a split second, Alex almost pulled away, but then Wolf had cupped her wet cheek and there was no going back The touch was seis inexpressibly sad His touch was thea week after her parents died, when her aunt stroked her hair: I would give anything to bring them back for you In that instant, Alex had understood what it was to have a piece of you gutter, an inner fire go cold

This, she had not expected Wolf had touched her before, al drea she’d never considered was that despite their transforht truly understand what it was they’d lost Soet it back

"What are you doing, Wolf, what are you doing?" she whispered, as his hand roa over her forehead, pausing over her ; felt the fist of the red stor to batter its way into her brain; knew Peter had led those nize me?--and that they would be up the hill in no time flat

But she let all that ride That could wait Instead, she gave Wolf the luxury of a few seconds to remember who Simon was and what that boy had been

Then, she ran