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"It doesn’t work like that," he said The curl transforrabbed Shirly’s arm "You heard it too, didn’t you? I’m not crazy That really was her, wasn’t it? She’s alive She made it"

"No--" Shirly shook her head "Walk, what’re you saying? That Juliette’s alive? Made it where?"

"You heard" He pointed at the radio "Before The conversations The cleaning There’s more of them out there More of us She’s with thehtnow"

"Alive"

Shirly stared at the radio, processing this Her friend was still so It had been so solid in her head, this vision of Juliette’s body just over the hills, lying in silent repose, the wind flecking away at her And now she was picturing herinto a radio somewhere

"Can we talk to her?" she asked

She kneas a dumb question But Walker see

"Oh, God God, yes" He set the , but hat Shirly now read as exciteone, drained from the roo tointo the parts bin He dumped some tools out and pawed into the bottom of the container

"No," he said He turned and scanned the parts on the ground "No no no"

"What is it?" Shirly slid away fro of co? There’s a ht there" She pointed to the partially disassembled headphones

"The transmitter It’s a little board I think it’s oninto the bin" Her voice was high and tense She moved toward the plastic bucket

"My other workbench It wasn’t needed All Jenks wanted was to listen in" He waved at the radio "I did what he wanted How could I have known I’d need to transmit--?"

"You couldn’t," Shirly said She rested her hand on his ar toward a bad place She had seen hih, knew he had shortcuts he could take to get there in no ti in here we can use? Think, Walk Concentrate"

He shook his head, wagged his finger at the headphones "This h Little --"

He turned and looked at her "Wait--there is so storehouse would have them A transmitter" He pretended to hold a box and twist a switch "For the blasting caps I repaired one just a o get it," she said "You stay here"

"But the stairwell--"

"I’ll be safe I’e anything with that" She pointed to the radio "No looking for more voices Just hers Leave it there"

"Of course"

Shirly bent down and squeezed his shoulder "I’ll be right back"

Outside, she found dozens of faces turning her way, frightened and questioning looks in their wide eyes, their slack enerator that Juliette was alive, that they weren’t alone, that other people lived and breathed in the forbidden outside She wanted to, but she didn’t have the time She hurried to the rail and found Courtnee

"Hey--"

"Everything okay in there?" Courtnee asked

"Yeah, fine Do me a favor, will you? Keep an eye on Walker for me"

Courtnee nodded "Where are you--?"

But Shirly was already gone, running to the roup huddled in the entranceway Jenkins was outside with Harper They stopped talking as she hurried past

"Hey!" Jenkins seized her ar?"

"Mine storeroo--"

"You won’t be going We’re about to blow that stairwell These idiots are falling right into our hands"

"You’re what?"

"The stairwell," Harper repeated "It’s rigged to blow Once they get down there and start working their way through--" He put his hands together in a ball, then expanded the sphere in a mock explosion

"You don’t understand--" She faced Jenkins "It’s for the radio"

He frowned "Walk had his chance"

"We’re picking up a lot of chatter," she told hiht back, swear"

Jenkins looked to Harper "How long before we do this?"