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"Benny’s already been to the Ruin, Charlie He did just fine"

Charlie’s own sreat zo, To, "Answer the man, Benny"

"Yes"

"Be polite, Benny," Toot hiround "He’s trainingto go find the Lost Girl and bring her back to town And there’s nothing you can do about it"

He didn’t knohy he said it, and even as he said it he kneasn’t true, but he wanted to wipe the smirk off of Charlie’s face

His words did just that Charlie’s eyes hardened to stone, and he opened hisTo on hoently, but before they went three steps, Charlie said sohed It was a dark and ugly laugh, heavy and swollen with the pro to turn, but Tom’s hand was like iron on his shoulder

"Hey, Tom!" called Charlie, and Tom slowed and half turned to look back "Best tell the pup to be real careful out in the Ruin Lots of things out there will take a bite out of freshout there wants to kill you"

Tom stopped He turned very slowly and looked at Charlie for several silent seconds, the s wants to kill you"

Then he turned, patted Benny on the shoulder, and started walking As Benny turned away froot a brief look at Charlie’s face Did the big man’s smile flicker? Did his eyes show some emotion other than predatory confidence? Benny couldn’t be sure

He and Tom walked in silence all the way home

20

WHEN THEY REACHED THE GARDEN GATE, BENNY PUT HIS HAND ON THE latch but didn’t open it He turned to his brother

"Okay," Benny de Charlie and the Haet under your skin"

"What did you s the Lost Girl saw, about what she could tell people?"

"It’s a bad world, Benny" was all Tom would say

"Then … what’s Gameland?"

It was clear Tom didn’t want to answer, but eventually he said, "It’s a place that shouldn’t exist It’s an abomination"

Benny had never heard Tom use a word like "abomination," let alone load a ith as much contempt

"It used to be an amusement park, a place where people would come for a day of innocent fun It was closed down for a couple of years before First Night, but a few traders and bounty hunters found it and staked it out as theirs Their version of it had nothing to do with family fun or innocence Remember when I told you about how soames where they put boys in pits with zoms?"

Benny nodded He hadn’t believed Toht since Now the idea of boys being tossed into pits with only a stick hich to defend thely horrific

"They used to do that kind of stuff at Gameland, and other stuff that’s even worse A lot worse Bounty hunters, loners, and other people come froames They bet on stuff like that Z-Games they’re called" He paused, and pain etched deep lines in his face "When Nix was little and we had that really bad winter--you were six or seven--Charlie coerced Jessie Riley into going out to Gah ration dollars to feed her and Nix Think about that, Benny A grooa filled with zoms and only a sawed-off baseball bat or a piece of pipe to defend herself"

"No," Benny said It was a straight-up denial, a state could not be the truth That it could never have been the truth

"She’d had a little kid at hohter starve, and a parent will do anything to protect her child Even if doing those things rips away a piece of her soul I got her out of there," Tom said, "but she was never quite the same afterward"

"That’s iave a bitter laugh "There’s no law past the fence line What’s done in the Ruin, stays in the Ruin On the other hand … if it becas do actually happen out there, then I doubt anyone involved would be allowed in Mountainside Or in any town Therecriminals live next door … well, that’s another h, "so far no one’s been able to adequately prove a connection between Gameland and any of the bounty hunters who live here"

Benny shook his head The logic seeo," Tom continued, "someone set fire to the place and burned it down, and the owners moved the Z-Games to a new location They keep its location secret Gaons, so that they don’t knohere it is"

"Why?"

"Because whoever burned it down ain"

"Do you knoho burned it?"

Tom didn’t answer Instead he considered the sky It was still blue, but a ht I don’t want to waste the rest of the day talking about stuff like that"

"Like what? You’re not telling ? And could she really say so questions I don’t know the answers to Could she have seen so? Maybe Probably What matters is that Charlie seems to think so That’s why he started the ru tio He can’t find her, and he doesn’t want anyone else looking"

"So he had nothing to do with her picture being on the card?"

"Not a chance Having people think she was real and having a picture of her to help identify her if she was ever found … Those are the last things Charlie would want" Toood person, kiddo, and he’s not a forgiving one Like most people of his kind, he’s motivated by fear"

"Fear? What could Charlie be afraid of?"

Tom said, "The truth A lot of people are afraid of that"

Benny nodded even though he didn’t fully understand what Tom meant

"Can I have my card back?"

Tom took the card from his shirt pocket and studied it for a moment, then handed the card to Benny "I can’t say I’m happy to find out that Rob sold this to the printers I asked hi up trouble with Charlie isn’t the sainst his shirt front "Why do you think Mr Sacchetto painted the Lost Girl card after you asked his when they need money"

"He doesn’t look broke"