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"Yeah?"

"Go away"

Benny started to say soot to his feet He had no idea what Lilah was going to say, or what she could say Compassion, tenderness, and most other hu about that?

Benny nodded to himself and walked back to where Nix and Tom stood

"Tom … do you knohat happened? Who did this?"

"No," Toive him a sharp look

"What?" she asked

He hesitated

"Co out here, then you can’t treat us like this You can’t protect us from stuff"

"It’s not that," To first"

"Okay," said Benny

"That night last year, e rescued the kids from the bounty hunters … how sure are you that you killed Charlie Pink-eye?"

If Toht in the face he could not have stunned hi?" de yet Answer the question, Benny"

Benny closed his eyes and thethat Tom was dead, Nix, Benny, and Lilah had taken it upon theroup of children who had been kidnapped by Charlie Matthias and his bounty hunter cronies It had been a foolishly risky plan, with ht The skies had opened and lashed Charlie’sAt Benny’s suggestion, Lilah had freed hundreds of the zo her own living flesh as bait, the ghost-voiced Lost Girl had enticed the legions of dead to follow her up the mountain and into the bounty hunters’ ca escaped a terrible death by a stroke of luck During the ensuing battle, all the bounty hunters had died Lilah had killed the Motor City Hae she had ached for since that horrible day years ago when her sister, little Annie, had died trying to escape frohter in his ca children He’d beaten Lilah and Nix to the ground and was seconds away froth of black pipe that the Haie’s head--and that Charlie and the Hammer had used to beat Nix’s mother to the point of death

As Charlie went for hie, even the feel of the bloere scorched into his memory Benny wiped his mouth with the back of his hand

"He fell all the way down the mountain, Tom"

"But you never saw him land? Or heard hirabbed Tohed "I’ve seen two other an Mountain Both of them were bounty hunters who tried to cut a slice of this territory" He walked over to the dead man and looked at his bloodless face "I never knew for sure who did it, but rumor had it that both men had been killed by Charlie Pink-eye"

26

"THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE!" BENNY AND NIX SAID IT AT THE SAME TIME

"I hope you’re right," said Tom

"Charlie’s dead," insisted Benny "Unless he broke his neck when he fell, he’s a zo He drew his knife and began cutting the corpse down

"Tom," said Nix, "Charlie’s dead I know he is"

"Okay," said Tom He slashed the ropes that held the round

"Tom!" snapped Nix "He’s dead"

Tom pulled the ht "I’ with you, Nix"

"But you believe us, don’t you? We saw him fall"

"I believe you"

"Then …"

"But you didn’t see hiether over his stohtened and went to peer inside the truck He rue piece of stained plastic sheeting Without coht down the corners

"Torily "What do you want me to say, Benny? We didn’t stop to examine that side of the ht have been enough thick brush to have slowed his fall Or he could have fallen a hundred feet and been smashed to junk I don’t know We don’t know, and that’s the point I’ve lived this long without giving in to assuan, but Tohed "Now listen to ht? You don’t want to go back to town"

"No!" snapped Nix Benny, less sure about that, shook his head slowly

"Okay," said Tom, "then you have to learn to keep an open et you killed If Charlie is dead, then he’s dead If he’s alive, then he’s alive We don’t know for sure, but if we don’t allow the possibility of it, then we could get blindsided Would either of you like it if Charlie was alive and got the drop on us? If he illing to torture people and feed theine what he’d be willing to do to us We killed his best friend, we led a zoh this part of the Ruin, he can’t ever coht You really want to wake up and find hi at you in the dark? Do you, Nix?"

They said nothing Neither was able to

"I’ve ed to stay alive out here in the Ruin because I’m a realist I allow the truth to be the truth, noelse" He waved his hand at the forest "This ht as well be hell itself out here That line about everything out here wanting to kill you? It’s true"

They kept silent Nix grabbed Benny’s hand and was squeezing it harder than she had during Zak’s funeral

"I want you both to learn to think and act--and react--the way I do I want you to survive You have to be ready for this to be your world too You’re teenagers now, but out here you’re going to grow up fast That’s only going to happen, though, if you’re smart and careful and honest with yourself"

Nix said, "Toht be other people out here like Charlie?"

"Yes," he said without hesitation "Or worse"

"Worse?" She shuddered "God"