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“Bryant,” a voice pleaded.
Maybe it’s my mom. Maybe she’s dead, too. Oh God. She’s gonna be pissed I got us both killed.
But the voice was lighter than my mom’s. Shakier, too. Scared instead of mad.
“Bryant!” another voice chimed in. This one did sound angry. “Come on, man, you can’t be dead.”
Devon. Devon was mad at me for being dead. Warm prickles filtered down into my chest.
Clearly I’m not dead if fire ants are eating my lungs. Then, the pain worsened.
Someone was crying next to me.
Elizabeth.
“Bryant, you promised.”
The pain in my chest morphed into an uneven throbbing.
“What are you doing?” It was Eric. He sounded tired but alive. If he was alive, Thaden must be dead. I wanted to scream at Eric to take Devon and Elizabeth and run before more monsters could come after th
