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He reached the end of the row carrying no on Jaon tender, had that relatively soft job because she was only eight years old and sht fall to the ground, and carefully rake the chokes in the wagon into an even layer, and check in each backpack load on a sheet of paper for Albert so that the daily harvest could be accounted for

"Jonesie!" Jah and it slipped fro chokes everywhere

Jonesie started to say soone Just not there

He tried to suck in breath to cry out, but air did not flow through hispain, like a cut, like a knife was drawn across his throat from ear to ear

"Jonesie!" Jaround, facedown

His ulped helplessly at the air He tried to touch his throat but his aron Jonesie could see a e of her above hi silently

And behind her a shape It was transparent but not invisible A huge hand with one finger extended That finger reached through his body He couldn’t feel it

And then he couldn’t feel anything

Jaht Eduardo and Turbo from the adjacent fields They came at a run from different directions, but Jamilla hardly noticed them at first She stared and screamed and screa Turbo caught her in his aret her to stop running

"What is it? Is it zekes?"

Zekes were the carnivorous worms that inhabited many of the fields and had to be bribed with payments of blue bats and junk fish

Jamilla went still Turbo was there, and noas Eduardo They were her friends, her coworkers

Jamilla steeled herself to try to explain what had just happened But before she could gain control of her raw voice, Eduardo said, "What is that?"

Jamilla felt Turbo crane to see past her He set her down She no longer felt like running Or screa Turbo left her and walked the ten steps to join Eduardo

"What is that thing?" Turbo asked "Is that what scared you, Ja"

"Big And weird," Turbo repeated "I worked a couple of days filling in with Quinn and I never saw anything like that"

"Like a fish with, like, ar here in the middle of a choke field?"

Jamilla did not dare to coain