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But then we came back, parked around the block, and aited

When dusk settled in, Raize handed ave me instructions to shoot if anyone but hiray hoodie from the back of the truck He put the hood up and ran down a back alley between houses Then I saw hih someone’s yard

I rolled e

I kept expecting to hear a dog barking or gunshots, but I heard nothing

A

Five, still nothing

My sto

Fuck Fuck! Fuck!

I hated this shit I hated this life

The ie of my sister flashed in my head

Could I give her up? Stop looking for her? Escape and return to my old life?

Who was I kidding?

What life?

I knew the answer before I startedIn one un inside my shirt I shut the door so it only clicked softly, because ht depend on it

Withmy soul pull away from my body because I knew—I just knew that what I’d find in that house would change ain

This was another line I was going to cross

For them The woman Her son For my sister

And for Raize, too

I crept forward until I got to the sidewalk

My insides clenched, but I keptmyself from outside my body

An eerie caled on the inside, already tasting blood

When I got to thea white fence between the house and the neighbors’, I was listening I heard nothing, from either house

It was dark now Dusk had coone

Still Nothing

There was an opening in the fence I slipped the lock, swinging the door open One of the hinges creaked, and I caught it, holding h and closed it, quietly this time No creak

As I uy stepped out He ca around

He was the guy who’d been holding my arm earlier

Where was Raize?

Pop! It was somewhat muted How could I hear that?

Then I sa was open The room had lit up on that pop-pop