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The Rabbit Pen

They marched her to the rabbit pen, where about forty handcuffed Smokies sat inside the wire fence A dozen or so Specials stood in a cordon around the their captives with empty expressions By the entrance to the compound a few rabbits hopped aimlessly, too addled by their sudden freedom to make a break for it

The Special who had captured Tally took her to the end farthest froate, where a handful of Smokies with bloody noses and black eyes were clustered

"Aruarded this end of the pen, and shoved her down to the ground a the others

She stuht stretched the cuffs painfully across her wrists

When she struggled to turn over, a foot planted itself into her back and pushed her up For a ed to a Special, but it was one of the other Sed to sit up cross-legged

The wounded Sement

"Tally," soled to turn toward the voice It was Croy, a cut over his eye bleeding down onto his cheek, one side of his face covered with dirt He scooted himself a bit closer "You resisted?" he said "Huh

Guess I rong about you"

Tally could only cough Traces of the burning pepper sees, like the eo out Tears still streah breakfast call this ured you’d picked an awfully convenient time to disappear"

She shook her head, forced words through the cinders in her throat "I was out late with David That’s all" Speaking made her sore jaw ache

Croy frowned "I haven’t seen hi"

"Really?" She blinked away tears "Maybe he got away"

"I doubt anyone did" Croy jutted his chin toward the gate of the pen A large group of S thenized faces from those who’d made a stand at theup now," he said

"Have you seen Shay?"

Croy shrugged "She was at breakfast when they attacked, but I lost track of her"

"What about the Boss?"

Croy looked around "No"

"I think he got away He and I ether"

A dark smile crossed Croy’s face "That’s funny He always said he wouldn’tabout a face-lift"

Tally ht about the brain lesions that went along with becoh her body She wondered howto happen to theive hiet away, but I couldn’t have h the forest"

"Why not?"

She wriggled her toes "No shoes"

Croy raised an eyebrow "You picked the wrong day to sleep late"

"I guess so"

Outside the overcrowded rabbit pen, the new arrivals were being organized into groups A pair of Specialsa reader into the bound S the everyone by city," Croy said

"Why?"

"To take us home," he said coldly

"Hoed itsin her mind And nowho and captured

She scanned the captives, looking for Shay and David The faard, dirty, cruer thought of thely It was the cold expressions of the Specials, beautiful though they were, that seeht her eye Three of the invaders were carrying a struggling figure, bound hand and foot, through the pen They ht to the resistors’ corner and duround

It was Shay

"Watch this one"

The two Specials guarding theure "Armed resistor?" one asked

There was a pause Tally saw that one of the Specials had a bruise erous"

The three left their captive behind, their cruel grace marked with a touch of hurry

"Shay!" Croy hissed

Shay rolled herself over Her face was red, her lips puffy and bleeding She spat, saliva trailing froround

"Croy," she ue

Then her eyes fell on Tally

"You!"