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She burst into the town plaza Not knohat she was looking for, not consciously But she found herself running up the stone steps toward the ruined church

Jarabbed her hair, and yanked back Her legs went out fro onto sharp-edged granite

But Brittney no longer felt real pain She had long since gone beyond pain

Jamal tried to straddle her, but he tripped on the rope and she pushed away from him

"Stop it!" Jamal yelled

Brittney rolled down a couple of steps, cliht back into Jamal She knocked him aside and dashed past hio But a path had been cleared to the inside The cross had been propped back upright, leaning a bit but still there, silver in the ht

Brittney ran toward the cross, tripped on debris, and sla, fu hands, trying to get the rope around her

"No! No! No!" Brittney shouted

Jamal punched her in the side of the head

Brittney blinked and punched back She kicked and flailed and punched as well as she could from her position half beneath a pew And Jamal kicked her back viciously

But Jamal could still feel pain He backed away suddenly, eyes wild and dripping sweat He leveled the rifle at her

"I don’t want to shoot you," Jaot heavily to her feet

"I know Drake told me you’d say that But I can blow up your face and then you won’t be better right away That’s what he said He told ht in the face and tie you up"

"I wish you could killto shout at heaven, she cried, "Jesus, I a you for death!"

"Just let me tie you up," Jamal pleaded "He’ll whipdown his face and Brittney felt sorry for hiet away froun at her face

"Don’t," Brittney said "We have to fight Drake, we have to get help Sam He has to burn Drake to ashes and scatter the ashes in the ocean"

"Please don’t make me do this," Jamal pleaded

Brittney yelled, "Help! So He was drunk and dehydrated Weaker than he should have been More easily tired

But despair drove hih the night

"Never wanted to be no guard," he yelled at the closed and darkened houses "Everybody hear that? I didn’t ask to be no prison guard!"

He stood swaying back and forth, big stone-fingered fists clenched

"No one wants to talk to me, huh?"