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"Like shit"

"Can you fix it?"

"I can set it, but I think you’re gonna need a doctor You broke the hell out of it, Boyd Man, when you break sohter

"I can’t feel it too bad Just hurts a little"

"Not for long Go on, take another toot," Ruger said, lightly grasping Boyd’s shin with both hands and placing his foot against Boyd’s chest

"Gi of coke Between toots he said, "Just let ht then He shoved with his foot and threw all his weight back and away The leg stretched in its tube of skin and h meat and er said, but Boyd had passed out His eyes had rolled up in their sockets, his s of a screaer said with a arette, then stubbed it out on the ground, watching with quiet amusement as Boyd slowly drifted back up out of the pool of painless sleep into the real world He searched for that exact moment when the pain sensors in Boyd’s brain cahts with all the ju When Boyd’s eyes suddenly flared wide and he drew in a sharp, high hiss of agony, Ruger closed his eyes for a second, savoring that littleat his leg with his good hand His scrabbling fingers encountered strangeness in the for with strips of torn deni…?"

"…Is set More or less Still have to get your ass to a doctor, but it’ll do for now, I guess I splinted it, so you should be okay for a little while I waited until you woke up before I took off to find Farin’ corn"

"Man, you can’t just leaveyou here, but I will be back Just so you see that I’ all the stuff here Cash, coke--the works Now, you know I’, uncertain look, but finally he nodded

Ruger popped a stick of Juicy-​Fruit into his htfully for several seconds, his dark eyes ranging over Boyd’s face "Okay then End of discussion You stay here and talk to Mr Scarecrow, and I’ll go see what I can see Maybe I’ll get a wheelbarrow or soht the hell out of here If we’re lucky I’ll find a nice nondescript set of wheels Pickup or four-​by-​four…soo off-​road to stay away froer s "Back before you even know it" He stood up, stretched his achinghiood, and strolled off, ignoring Boyd’s pleas to hurry Within a few seconds he vanished around a bend and was gone

Boyd stared after him, eyes aith tears of pain Above hiht, cold breeze Boyd did not see the long scra line of beetles and roaches and worms and spiders that swarmed out of the fields, scurried up the fence posts, and scuttled up the pants-​legs of the scarecrow Not all of the rippling of the du past, yet all of it was caused by the night itself

5

Iron Mike Sweeney, the Enemy of Evil, looked at his chronoet home

"Oh man," he said in a low, terse whisper, "don’t let me be late"

He was all the way out past the Guthrie farh on flat ground He kicked the War Machine into action and pedaled like crazy

"Crap," he said aloud He hadn’t meant to be late, but the papers that should have been dropped off before school was even out had come in an hour after Mike usually picked the the last ones for the long haul down A-32 Home was on the other side of town, and the et there until so for sure

He zooet hi at his so that sweat popped out on his face and under his clothes He kept his head down and pu of home that lay one thousand and seven miles away Onefor hi by the door with her hand cla for hi herself to try and run so on the left-​hand side of the couch, a Winston burning in one corner of histhrough channel after channel Vic, with his hard mechanic’s hands and that little s Which, by Vic’s tally, was pretty often Vic, who demanded to be called "sir" and had enforced his decree with his belt Vic, who liked how hard his hands were, and how fast Vic, who liked to use his hands, to hurt with his hands

Mike looked down the long road and swore to himself that he would not cry Not this time Not now, and not after it was all over No matter how bad it was, he wouldn’t let that prick see him cry Even if itthe tears out of hile" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>