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PART ONE
THE HOLLOW MEN
All concerns ofwhen they wish to cure with evil
—Sophocles
CHAPTER ONE
This is how the world ends
CHAPTER TWO
HARTNUP’S TRANSITION ESTATE
STEBBINS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
He was sure that he was dying It was how he iined death would be
Cold
Darkness flowed slowly into the edges of everything As if the shadows under tables and behind cabinets were leaking out to fill the room Soft Not painful
That part was odd In his dreams—and Lee Hartnup often dreamed of death—there was pain Broken bones Bullet wounds Deep knife cuts
But this … this wasn’t painful
Not anymore Not after that first bite