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"It was a dream"

"Maybe But when you were sick? I sat with you sometimes You talked to Peter a lot, but you were more scared of him then Now, you’re" She paused "Sad"

"Oh" All of a sudden, his eyes itched "I guess I am"

"Are you stilleyes to his "Because the last time my daddy went to Iraq? I was mad, and he came home in a box I was pissed at Grandpa Jack, and then he died The last otten ht before We made up, but" A tear dribbled down one cheek

"You didn’tthat if evil thoughts could kill, his father would’ve keeled over five years before the Night of the Hammer On the other hand, he couldn’t have wished that hard, because he’d also lied for the bastard when the chips were down "Were you angry at Eli?" When she shook her head, he said, "See?"

"But I’m afraid" Her lower lip shuddered "I’m still ain, Chris It hurts tooto do would be to give her a hug, or touch her But he didn’t want to h he probably shouldn’t htn’t keep "I only want to try and do what’s right I’et myself killed"

"Well, that’s a relief," Jayden said, stoh "What? What’d I say?" But histhe little girl in for a knuckle rub "You thought I ain

"It is, however, an excellent question" Jayden gave Ellie’s head a final tousle "Lena or no Lena, what is the gaet to Rule? People there you can trust?"

"A few" Crouching over a sparse patch of unbroken snow, hein froer at ten o’clock "We have two choices: either loop clockwise to the hospice here"--he traced an arc to two o’clock--"or keep on this route and drop down to the southwest corner here" An X at seven o’clock

"Which is faster?" Ellie asked

"Six of one, half dozen of the other We can trust Kincaid, the doctor, I think, and so and Pru, frouys, but they’re all the way on the other side of town" He pointed to four o’clock "The only catch is Jess’s house, where Alex was? It’s not that far from the Zone"

"Where the people-eaters are" When Chris nodded, Ellie continued, "Can’t we go straight down and still end up where Alex lived?"

"Well, there are more houses and people, butyeah, if we’re careful"

"Sounds like those girls are the first stop then" Jayden went to his horse, pulled open a saddlebag, and withdrew a cas as well as a Ziploc of tea and another of fish jerky "What then?"

"I don’t know I’ve been gone two months," Chris said, as Jayden carefully scooped handfuls of untrammeled snow into the pot "It’s the middle of March now A lot could’ve happened" Given histhe pot over flao to Sarah and Tori andwhat? Youto bust everyone out?"

"I honestly haven’t thought that far Guess it depends on if I end up in the prison house"

"We won’t let that happen," Ellie said, promptly

Jayden only filled a tea ball with loose leaves "How likely is that?"

"I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a real strong possibility What I’ is that the Council will listen I can’t believe that they’ll just shootout a piece of jerky