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A few of the kids took note of this with looks of surprise and fear, as if afraid they would age forward in a matter of minutes, but for most of them I think the shock of our sudden captivity was not about to be trumped by an unexpected trip to the present; they orried about having their souls extracted, not about developing gray hair and liver spots

The soldiers corralled us in the middle of the platform to wait for the train Hard shoes clicked toward us I risked a look overoff the escalator, were three more

"Hey!" Enoch shouted "Policeut, and he doubled over

"Everything good here?" said the closest policeman

"They’ve taken us prisoner!" said Bronwyn "They aren’t really soldiers, they’re--"

And then she got a punch to the gut, too, though it didn’t see lasses to reveal stark white eyes Bronwyn shrank back

"A bit of advice," the police to you We are everywhere Accept that, and this will all be easier"

Nor to fill the station The soldiers pressed in on us fro their weapons hidden

A train hissed into the station, filled with people Its electric doors whooshed open and a glut of passengers spilled out The soldiers began pushing us toward the nearest car, the policeers remained inside "Find another car!" they barked "Get out!" The passengers grumbled but complied But there wereto push into the car, and a few of the soldiers who’d been ringing us had to break away to stop the to close but the police holding thean to sound; the soldiers shoving us forward so hard that Enoch tripped, sending other children tripping over hi man, whose wrists were so skinny he’d been able to slip his cuffs, decided toout, then a second, and the folding round The croar to escape the gunshots, and what had been merely confusion deteriorated into total chaos

Then they were shoving us and kicking us onto the train Besideher get close Then I saw her cuffed hands flare orange, and she reached behind her and grabbed hi, a hand-shaped holeit down on Eered in me and I drove my shoulder into his back