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"Hurry!" Alex shouted She was backing up, the Uzi in both hands, trying to cover all sides at once One of Finn’s men--old, but with only a few strea in a herky-jerky crawl Before she could get off a shot, the wolfdog surged Screa, the old man reeled as blood spurted fro ju the butt into the man’s jaw, one quick and vicious jab There was a jet of crimson as the old man’s skin split, and he went down In the next second, the Changed had hi bloody hand reaching straight up as if trying to claw his way fro, easy, easy!" Toht spray paint As Greg and Tom wrestled Peter onto his saddle, Chris saw the cramp of pain in Peter’s face and heard hison!" Chris said as Peter fell into hiot you, it’ll be okay"

"C-c-cold" Peter was gasping There was so much blood, Chris could taste the iron in his mouth Peter’s head lolled "S-so c-c-coldC-Chris, s-sorry, s-so sorry, I t-t-tried"

"Shh, you did fine," Chris said, tre to be okay I’ve got you, Peter" Peter was shuddering, struggling for breath I’ his arht and held hiot you, you won’t fall"

"All right, Greg, on your horse, let’s go!" Grabbing the roan’s reins from Chris, Tom turned to shout, "Alex, you ride withon his face "Alex, where’s Alex?"

"What?" Confused, Chris threw a look down to where she’d been, then up, toward the hall He spotted her, that red screa men, and exploded for the steps--and a body "There!" Chris shouted

"Alex, no!" Aghast, To to beat a path "Alex, there’s no ti, what are you doing?"

But she kept going, didn’t falter, and in that last second--before the shot--Chris understood why

Laid out like a sacrifice, his grandfather was crunized hier was bald His face was ripped, but the head was still attached The rest was a loose-lier’s body was a boy, bloodied and bruised A girl, very pregnant, hovered nearby, uncertain, clearly terrified As Alex banged through, only the boy looked up

My God The jolt of surprise was like a crack of lightning splintering his brain There was an instant where the engine of time hitched, ju said, the confusion clear "Who--" "Wolf, please!" Above all that clamor, he still heard her shout "You have to leave, you have to go, Wolf ! You have to run, you have to--"

And then they all saw, at the same terrible moment, what Alex did not: a monster, suddenly risen; a ruin of flesh and bone, virtually naked, clothed only in tatters and red rivers of blood strea flap of scalp hung in a liray hair Pink skull showed from forehead to crown as if thisfrom its skin to be born

"YOU!"--and that was the only clue Chris had that this thing once had been a wo up, fist jabbing toward Alex, the chroht "YOU!"

"MELLIE, NO!" To down, at the same instant that Chris screamed, "Alex, Alex, look out, look out, look--"

It was, she thought, the strangest feeling, like waking fro bright and clear: co back to herself not within her parents’ embrace but the shelter of To second, in the rowing garden of the dead Yet there was nowhere on earth she should be other than with To to welcoh the monster still searched She felt it reach because she did want Wolf gone and safe So when she spotted Wolf with Yeager, all she could think was that he had to leave and take this one last leap away fro to feel that way about a boy that was half rabbed his arirl only seeh "You need to go, you need to get out!"

Wolf eeping Big tears burned in ruby trails through blood For a second, she knehat he felt For this, she needed no , not only Yeager but Peter, too For hi down at herself at her parents’ funeral Or on the day of her diagnosis: huddling in a chair in a too-cold office and seeing for the first ti you alive, really looked like

"Wolf, please" She could feel her lips treet better, I proo, Wolf, you have to run, you have to--"