14
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The text comes in at 11:20, while I’m finishing up at Ernesto’s. I shake off a full-body shudder as I close the door to the house, hopefully for the last time. The flattened rat was still there. But it was accompanied by a house cat, recently dead, also maggot-infested, and unmoving. These spawning grounds sure have done a lot of damage, even if they may soon be closed for good.
BUZZ. I yank my phone from my back pocket, adrenaline surging when I see Tad’s text.
Help. Huntington.
Hurriedly, I write back: You okay? Hurt?
Seconds pass. Anxiety fists in my chest as I wait outside Ernesto’s front door. This was the last of my ten spawning areas. I was all set to return to the historic square. But now...
An icy gust of air cuts through me as I zoom in on the picture o
