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"Thanks," I said and looped their straps over uys," I suggested "Just in case"

Jake raised an eyebrow at ently put

"Already on it, h the hatch, up onto the roof

How can I describe what I saw?

First off, the roof was covered in hail and the surface had huge pits in places

More ie of the roof, looking out at the sky She had a box next to her A home safety fire-escape ladder It was still unopened

Sahalia was staring straight ahead

Niko and Alex were standing behind her, staring in the same direction

I stopped in ers when I sahat they were seeing

In the distance, near thelike a ribbon through the air It went up in a line, up until it reached cloud level, and then it gradually expanded out, shaped like a funnel

It looked like a strea in the sky

Cold water fro the bottorowing and growing, this ball of nightti out over the horizon

"What is it?" Alex murmured

"Ask Brayden," Niko answered

Sahaliaevil over at NORAD"

The ink cloud was now as big in the sky as the e behind it It looked like an invertedblack plume

"AC units," Niko said "Now"

Brave Hunter Man had spoken

We scraht in the iant, van-size boxes They had slits in the sides to let in the clean air and theninto one giant duct The giant one went in through the roof of the Greenway

"Shoot," Niko said "The ducts"

The ducts were the proble in the hail They were battered and perforated They had big holes in the with the processed air from the units

"Even if we shut off the unit, the bad air will coh the broken duct," Alex said There was panic rising in his voice He was getting scared

"We gotta seal off the vent," Niko said He turned to Sahalia "Go get a sledgeha it up"

"I can carry a stupid sledgehaet it then!" Niko yelled

She hurried to the hatch

Niko stepped over to the giant duct, about four feet away from where it went into the roof He shimmied up on top and juave, just a little

"Help ot up there and we started juht have been fun, if eren’t watching a black cloud spread like an oil spill over the sky

We juether the three of us started to make a dent in it (Pun unintentional, I proot off the duct

Niko took it and WHAM He started beating down the eha Theand I really had to respect the guy Niko was strong and tough

The light went very, very green Everything looked alien and underwater

BAM BAM BAM, went the sledgeha down the air vent

The che in front of it like a suan to sting

"You guys, go," Niko shouted "I’ll be right there"

"No!" I said "You need our help--"

Suddenly I realized I’d left the uess Alex and Sahalia thought I was rabbed the masks, and Alex and Sahalia slipped pastand cursing

"I’ll be right there," I shouted

I turned to start back to Niko …

When I felt sick

Sick in my throat and body and mind I felt like my blood was on fire I was so scratchy and irritated I wanted to kill someone I really did I wanted to kill somebody and the so the vent with that sledgehammer and I wanted to throttle hi

I lurched at him with the mask

I roared at him

Then I fell over, facedown in the hail I’d been tripped

Someone had me by the foot and I was furious It wasrabbed handfuls of hail and I threw theedhio ofme down the stairs