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The severity of the situation unexpectedly takes a turn for the worse "Are they still here?" I turn, stabbing one," she says "They left whento panic "We need to get out of here"

With no hesitation, we creep out the roo sure it’s clear, then grab Maci’s hand and pull her along as I sprint down the tunnel for the stairs But a crash, fro stop Ithrough the wrecked crates and spilled food

And it’s right beside the only way out

I quickly push Maci back down the tunnel "Don’tunderMy feet sla the wind out of me The vah as I stu for me like a predator I start to worry that so against the dirt wall I could just run, up the stairs and out into the greyness of the outside But so inside me snaps into place, like all my wheels have locked into place

The perfect soldier

I bound forward, springing on s bite out and I flinch back, fearing itto escape up the stairs,swiftly toward …

Maci

The little girl stands at the top of the stairs, frozen, but not afraid

"Maci, run!" I yell

When she doesn’t budge, my feet hammer up the stairs The vampire speeds up But so do I and with a dive, I snatch it by the legs Our bodies ra in , open wounds Just because they fear me, doesn’t mean I’m immune to the virus And I have open wounds I ju, lips parted

With a fleeting swipe, I sink the knife into its chest, straight into its unbeating heart The screah the tunnels Maci flings her hands over her ears as she and I back away from it We watch as the va left but bones My first va hu inside me has died

Maci’s all eyes, mouth parted, as she stares at the va my voice soft "It’s dead"

She looks up at ives et out of here"

We start for the tunnel, but Aiden and Ryder coht for me with a scowl on his face "What the hell was that about?" he asks

I point over ht be someone inside who needs my help"

He calms a little, but shakes his head "But there could have been anything in here You don’t knohat did this"

"There was only a vampire," Maci chimes in "But Kayla killed it with her bare hands"

"Not with

Aiden brushes bydownstairs at the ruined room below Then his eyes move to the pile of bones in the middle of the stairway

"You really did," he says to himself "You killed one" Then he heads for the tunnel "Let’s get out of here"

After I finish explaining that Maci told hers had been there, the six of us stand in a circle outside, trying to figure out what our next move is

"We can’t just leave," Ryder says "This is our home"

"Was our home" He points his knife at the hillside, open, and lined with fires "But it’s not safe for us to stay here anyhers knohere it is and so do the Day Takers" His gaze briefly flicks tofor us"

"No, they’ll coer sharply at me "They want her Not us"

Despite ht I think maybe I should stay behind"

"Don’t be self-sacrificing" He says it without looking at ry

"Let’s all stay," Greyson interrupts, popping his knuckles and his neck "If they coher can kill another Higher," I point out "And the Day Takers are too strong"

Another dirty look fro here"

"Yeah, and we don’t want to be burned like the others," Maci says and all our eyes move to her

"What do youtoward her

"When they cauy with the white hair stood out there and talked," she says, pointing to the section of the ground between the hillside and us "Then they gathered everyone together and burned the the desert land The s its ashes into the sand

"No, no, no…" Ryder falls to her knees, her head tipping down Then she throws up

The bodies are burned beyond recognition There’s nothing left but ash It’s a tragedy that no one understands, but we pull ourselves together and pack e can salvage, which isn’t , and what they didn’t destroy, the vampires did