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He turned toto throw you up and you’ll grab on to the edge and scraoing to die

Niko made that cradle with his hands and I put my foot in and he tried to heave ot up pretty far on the fifth or sixth try

Grabbed soe, but it was so slick

I wanted to keep trying, but a root scratched

Niko started to pray

I didn’t want to see that

"Oh God," he said "Please, God, please send us some help because I can’t do it alone!"

Sahalia leaned forward and hugged Niko, her body pressing down on his, and I went, too, and there were two groups then: Sahalia, Niko, and I; and Batiste, Ulysses, and Max

And then … then came a tiny "Hey!"

An old voice But mad

"Who set off these flares? Hello?"

Then ere cla I jumped up

We all hollered and yelled but Niko yelled at us, "Be quiet! BE QUIET! IF YOU WANT TO LIVE, SHUT UP!"

Then, Niko shouted up "We’ve fallen in a pit Don’t coht fall in!"

"I won’t fall in! I’ht flashed down on us, going from one kid to the next

"Jesus Christ," the voice cursed "You went and fell in the foundation?"

"This family made it into a trap!" Sahalia snarled "They laid a cloth over it and trapped us!"

Niko shushed her

"Please, if you could just help us out We’re a bunch of kids and one of us is really hurt"

"The Mandrys That’s who set the trap Looks like one of theot the tar beat out of hiirl named Josie did that," Niko said

"She’s O," I shouted

"Looks like Tad Mandry’s dead, here"

"Please, mister, can you help us out?" Niko called

"Well, I’e!" he shouted "Of course I’ll help you There’s a ladder right here, for heaven’s sake"

There was a ladder up there? Right there?

"I’ll help you out But that’s all Now you all shut up and giveattention these days Could be any nuether, excited and relieved and still terrified of everything The only sound was Max uess

Then we heard a wet, sliding sound It was the round

"That’s it," Niko called softly

"I know!" the rouched

Inch by inch, atched the ladder poke farther into our air space

"It’s taking so long because I’m old," the man said "I’m too old for this nonsense"

The ladder started to tip

"It’s going to fall, now Watch out"

"We’re clear," Niko called

The ladder wobbled for adown

The ht as Ulysses

I couldn’t see his face because he had a red-and-black-checkered scarf wrapped around it By the way he moved, you could tell he was very old

He helped Sahalia out first and then she turned and helped us one by one

Niko caround