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friends, all fighting one another, face-to-face Killing one another

Tess shivered at the thought No wonder Jack had night with a disorder that wouldn't be understood for another one hundred years He probably thought he was insane

Suddenly the haunted eyes er and the anxiety and the shield of silence And the fear that he would hurt someone They were all ways to deal with sanity that occasionally seeh hell before co

That's why I'm here The realization hit her hard No one from this century could help Jack It was up to soe of the future It was up to Tess

"I can help you, Jack," she murmured "Just come home and let me try"

Tears burned her eyes Her voice cracked with emotion "Just come home"

Jack drifted in and out of consciousness Finally he blinked awake, feeling groggy and disoriented

Fear started as a queasy feeling in the pit of his sto presence His heart started beating faster, harder, thudding painfully in his rib cage

He eased his eyes open and iht stabbed deep in his skull He winced, knoould come next; what always came next

Thepulse in the back of his head With every heartbeat it expanded, seeping through his brain and drilling hard behind his eyes Nausea churned in his gut, its vile, bitter taste invading his mouth

Where the hell was he?

Frantically he searched for landmarks, and found none

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He was sitting beneath a tall cedar tree in the e field It could be any field, anywhere on the island The only thing he knew for sure was that it wasn't his field

Tres were too weak to support his weight Halfway up, he wobbled, reached blindly for the tree Rough bark scraped his knuckles and bit deeply into the back of his hand He yanked his hand back and pinned it protectively to his chest War Johns