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"We’ll figure it out," I told hiet exposed to the cheain I prooing to find Moo home?"

I could have lied But Alex was sot hiether toward the others He had forgiven uess Or iven hio to E disconnect bethat the big kids were dealing with and what the little kids were thinking about For exa tried to rip him apart due to a chemical compound–inducedEmerald’s, a strip club located near an off-ra You never went to Emerald’s They don’t let little kids in there," Chloe protested

"They do if your uncle’s the bouncer!" Max countered

"What do they do in there, anyway?" Batiste wanted to know "Our church is always trying to get those sinners to repent But I don’t even knohat kind of sinning they’re doing"

"Probably cursing," offered Chloe

"Tons of that!" said Max

"That’s a sin" Batiste sighed

"And drinking liquor?" Chloe asked

"Totally," said Max "They have these little glasses in all kinds of flavors like watermelon and peach passion and hot apple But they taste horrible Sweet and horrible I had three of theht on the bar, and onna call the cops"

"Drinking is a sin," said Batiste

"Wow," Chloe o back, anyways," Max continued "Boring Just a bunch ofwhoop"

I stifled a laugh

"What?" Chloe said "What’s so funny?"

"Oh … Alex was just telling me a joke," I said

"Tell us!" she deet"

"Come on!" they pleaded

"Okay, okay," I said "How do you make a tissue dance?"

"How?" Max said

"You put a little boogie in it!"

Nothing Not even a groan

"That’s the worst joke I ever heard," said Chloe

"I don’t even get it," said Max

Alex and I left the grade schoolers to discuss the finer points of adult entertain We crossed past Josie, as sort of slu

"How are you, Josie?" I asked

Alex nudgedkids He wanted to hear what they were thinking about the chemicals I did, too …

"I don’t understand," Astrid said "It made Niko blister up, Dean turned into so hallucinations But Sahalia and Alex and Jake were fine?"

"It doesn’this head

"Maybe they attack based on age or so…," Brayden said

"I noticed that the effects seemed to wear off very quickly," Alex piped up "It makes me think they attack the central nervous system"

"That anyone could make this kind of poison is just horrible," Astrid said "The people at NORAD should be shot"

"Hey! That’sabout," Brayden said

"But ould they s?" Astrid asked us "I es? Or makes them blister up and die? It’s evil"

"They made them to protect us"

"Protect us from what? From who?" Astrid demanded

"From our enemies!" Brayden answered

"It’s inhu those coal"

"Nothing’s illegal if the govern it," Brayden asserted, like an idiot

"That’s just a," I said

"Hey, Brayden," Astrid said "What exactly does your dad do for NORAD, anyway?"

I’d been wondering that exact thing I had sort of fantasized that Brayden’s dad was like a janitor

"That’s classified, Ass-trid," Brayden replied

Then we heard so

Chinka-chinka-chink

"Hello?" caate!

Beyond the plastic sheeting and the blankets, soate