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"I can’t believe it happened so fast," Brenda finally said "You think they were soanize so like that?"

"Hard to know," Lawrence replied "There were signs Locals disappearing, reps fro discovered But it looks like a huge nuht time to make their move"

"Yeah," Brenda said "It see healthy people Once the balance tipped, it tipped all the way over"

"Who cares how it happened," Lawrence said "The only thing that ht alley "Almost there We need to be hts, then picked up speed again

As they drove, it becawould suddenly leap out in front of them "Maybe you shouldn’t drive so fast"

"We’ll be fine," the man replied "I’ve driven this route a thousand times I know it like the back of my--"

Thomas fleard and was snapped back by the seat belt They’d run over soht beneath the van--metal, from the sound of it The van bounced a couple of times, then came to a stop

"What was that?" Brenda whispered

"I don’t know," Lawrence responded in an even quieter voice "Probably a trash can or so Scared the crap out ofscreech filled the air Then ca fell silent

"Got her loose," Lawrenceto hide his relief He continued, but slowed to a fraction of his earlier speed

"Maybe you should turn the lights back on?" Tho "I can’t see a thing out there"

"Yeah," Brenda added "I’m pretty sure anyone out there heard that racket anyway"

"I guess so" Lawrence turned thehts illuht that, cohter than the sun Tholare, then opened his eyes fully and a bloom of horror rose up in him About twenty feet in front of theether, coard, scratched and bruised Ripped, filthy clothes hung fro into the bright lights as if they weren’t fazed in the least They were like standing corpses, raised from the dead

Thomas shivered from the chill that iced his body

The crowd started to part They e space cleared in the middle as they backed to the sides of the alley Then one of theo ahead and drive past

"These are some awfully polite Cranks," Lawrence whispered

CHAPTER 49

"Maybe they’re not past the Gone yet?" Thoh the stateet run over by a big van?"

"Well, gun it," Brenda said "Before they change their mind"

To Thomas’s relief, Lawrence did just that; the van shot forward and he didn’t slon The Cranks lining the walls stared at the them close up--the scratches and blood and bruises, those ain

They were just approaching the end of the group when several loud pops sounded and the van jolted and swerved to the right Its front end slaainst it Thoh the windshield as they screaainst the front of the vehicle

"What the hell?" Lawrence bellowed as he put the van in reverse

They screeched backward several feet, the vehicle shaking horribly The two Cranks fell to the ground and were immediately attacked by the ones closest to the front of the van Tho terror On all sides, Cranks started thu the van with their fists At the saain traction The coht to the tires! Or the axels So the van from reverse to drive, but each time it only went a few feet A lady ild hair approached theto Thoe shovel in both hands, and he watched as she raised it over her head, then swung it down against theThe glass didn’t give

"We really need to get out of here!" Thomas shouted Helpless, he didn’t knohat else to say They’d been stupid to let themselves fall into such an obvious trap

Lawrence kept shifting and gassing the van, but they merely jerked back and forth A series of familiar thumps sounded fro all the , with everything from wooden sticks to their own heads The lady outside Tholass over and over again Finally, the fifth or sixth time she did it, a hairline crack shot across the

The growing panicto smash it!"

"Get us out of here!" Brenda said at the sah toBut soehae spiderweb blossoain the van jolted backward The ehalass again and landed in the street A Crank with a long gash on top of his bald head yanked the tool froroup of other people started fighting him for his weapon The cracks in the windshield almost completely obscured the view frolass ca through a gash in the , the jagged edges tearing its skin

Thomas unbuckled his seat belt and squir he found, a long plastic tool with a brush on one end and a sharp edge on the other--a snow pick--and crawled over theinto the Crank’s ar, whoever it was pulled their arlass onto the cement outside

"You want the Launcher?" Brenda called back to hi inside the van Grab the gun!"