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“But how about—?”

“Just be there,” Sam said with less fir away now, replaced by weariness and depression

“Just be there,” so voice

Sam closed his eyes, and for a ain and ed a bleak smile “Please Be there,” he said quietly

He walked down the three steps and out of the church, knowing in his heart that feould answer his call

SEVEN

88 HOURS, 54 MINUTES

“PULL OVER HERE, Panda,” Drake said

“Why?” Panda was behind the wheel of the SUV He was gettingPanda, he still wouldn’t go more than thirty miles an hour

“Because that’s what I said to do, that’s why,” Drake said irritably

Bug knehy they were stopping And Bug knehy it bothered Drake They couldn’t risk driving down the highway to the power plant In the threecrazy stuff, the Coates side had grown steadily weaker while the Perdido Beach side cruised right along Drake had pulled off his raid at Ralph’s, but he didn’t dare do anything more

Bug knew He’d been in and out of Perdido Beachlow on food in town but they still hadbecause he should have been able to steal more of that food, but his cha The best he could do was slip a package of dried soup or a rare PowerBar inside his shirt Not that there were PowerBars to be found nowadays Or dried soup

“Okay, Bug, we hike fro his door open and stepped out onto the road Bug slid across the seat and stood beside Drake

Bug’s real name was Tyler His fellow Coates kids assuness to accept crazy dares—specifically, eating insects Kids would dare hiet if I do it?” Mostly, in the old days, he’d gotten kids to give him money or candy

He didn’t s He kind of liked the way they would squir their little insect lives