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"They’re already dead," she told hi left butherself

"No one knows that for sure"

"I do"

She felt hile, tiny word fell on her with the weight of the world She wasn’t about to spill her guts to ahis question would only uest answer she could "I’ve gotten close enough to look them in the eyes I’ to end the suffering of every shell I find"

"You do that, and we’re dead No haht another day And worse yet, our bodies will be right down there with those shells, wandering around, bu for us to kill"

He stared down at her for a long ti with restraint "I hate it that you’re right"

"So do I" Her hand settled on his arm in an uncharacteristic show of sy for hi as si if he kept hton had way tooOtherwise, they wouldn’t be here now, about to walk into a life-or-death kind of situation

He covered her hand with his, his skin deliciously warers through hers, chasing away the chill that lingered along her skin "Let’s do this"

Si thehton Covering his bulk took a bit of effort, but she figured out how the ability worked pretty fast It was sirander scale

A shi wave of war As she waited for the echo to die down, she swore she felt so else between the ripples It was subtle, but it left the scent of sun-war chocolate in its wake, and had the distinct feeling of acknowledg

If she didn’t know better, she would have thought that the boots recognized theircould settle in and take root, it was gone, leaving her with a job to do and not much time left to do it

"Stay quiet," she told him "Move slowly and followlot on the southern side of the building None of the shells saw their approach, even though they left behind a path of traot closer, the scent of rotting flesh rose up like an invisible wall, hton let out a quiet noise sohtened around hers

She did the best she could to hold her breath as they slipped between the shellsabout

Not only was the door on this side of the building cracked open, but it was broken The handle had been snapped off--likely by one of the clumsy shells No need for the set of lock picks tucked in the purse

She waited until the shells were turned away, searching for signs of people approaching, then slipped through the door It eased shut behind thelow S that shellsinto the row of offices along this side of the building, but ht toward a pair of double doors about twenty yards away

The doors swung inward, and what used to be a woh the muck

Her black hair had once been in a ponytail, but was now hanging askeith bits of leaves clinging to the elastic band Several buttons on her blouse were undone, and the tail on one side was hanging over her slim skirt Beneath torn panty hose, dirt stained her knees There was a gash on one ankle that had scabbed over, but ollen and red with infection

Si from her head In the space of a split second, she told herself half a dozen different stories about who this woman had been A schoolteacher who’d devoted her life to children, an executive who’d taken the wrong turn while attending a businessout of town, a soccer mom on her way to pick up a kid from a friend’s house