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On the plus side, I was still alive She could have killed me but she didn’t And it ative side, I was still tied up awaiting certain fate and Dex was about to meet his, most likely by the hands of someone he trusted the most

No wonder Bird had said not to trust h energy to explain why, it would havedifference

And then the spins came Not just the spins thatan out of body seizure, but the waves of paralysis that coursed throughlike I could rip out of the binds (which I knew I couldn’t) to feeling like I was frozen froain in waves But it wasn’tout of the shadows They were ghostly, transparent Shapes in vaguely human forms They hovered aroundinsane froed with peyote

I looked at the objects They hovered and quivered as if they were tiular heartbeat Whether they were real or not, I didn’t have many options

"Can you help me?" I pleaded, quietly at first, asha to myself

"Please? Can you help me? I need help"

Tears pricked atI couldn’t help it I was so lost I couldn’t do a single thing I couldn’t even think

I cried for a fewstupid and useless and a sorry excuse for a hurave danger and I wasn’t able to do a single thing about it

I cried for a bit y in the rooh ures were closer to h They didn’t mean me harm, whatever they were

"Please," I sobbed one last tiet out

I felt warmth around me which h

But they did ile I started to strainIt worked in a sense I worked out hoas tied to the chair My hands were tied together but it seeht side

I wondered if I had anything MacGyver-ish in my left pocket Ithat the strange white figures were hovering nearby like blurbs on badly processed filers reached souuht it out of my back pocket I leaned forward in my seat as far as I could, so that I was almost tipped forward and tried to look behind my shoulder I couldn’t see what it was but it did feel like so soft and squishy had been encased in Saran Wrap

I had no idea what it could be And I had zero patience to slowly open the bag and figure out what it was As soon as it was in ers, I ripped it apart

I heard a faint puff of sound and felt a sprinkling of softness on ures suddenly retreated into the depths of the roon considering they hadn’t done anything wrong but, regardless, the fact that I could the rip the bag made me realize I could reach the other hand with the other

I concentrated as hard as I could, and even though it took a ferong atte to do your hair in front of a et ht the hand forward and marveled at it It was covered in a white powder, similar to talcum I quickly made work of my other hand I bent over and tried to untie ht I looked up at the wall and spied a saw hanging above the sink I hopped aardly across the tack roo loudly as I went I hoped wherever Sarah and Shan were, they wouldn’t hear it

I got the saw off of the wall and quickly put it to use againstbinds The supple leather snapped easily and soon I was free of the chair I was still dizzy and disoriented but I was free and ready to go

I stumbled across the roo nervously in their stalls as I ran past

Seeing the cloudyfor it I entered the stor ever s now and threw ainst the flying grit and sand and tried to piece together where Dex could be He went into the house with the sheriff, the last I saw

They couldn’t obliterate everyone, could they? The house was the first place I would have to go

I scampered across the dry paddock towards the Lancaster’s house, which still had the lights on As I neared, I saw that all the cars had gone That wasn’t a good sign

I slowed a bit and tried to take everything into account as one, that probablyBird to the hospital? Would they leave without Dex though? They couldn’t, Bird wouldn’t let that happen Unless Bird was so out of it…

I stopped a hundred yards fro myself

So where was Dex? I didn’t have the luxury to examine all ht

Off in the juniper woods, near the other barn, there was a light bobbing in the trees It see

I heldI started running towards the light as quickly as I could while keeping as low to the ground as possible Given ht, it wasn’t that hard

I was close to where the sheep paddock ended and the trees began, when I heard it I paused

It was ht was

"Dex, help me," it said

I openedca froain, louder

And to ruff rely, "Perry? Where are you?!"

This could not be happening I started booking towards the trees at full throttle now, not bothering to hide myself any through I got a few yards in whenonto the ground My jaw clanked against the ground and I bit my lip on impact The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth

Footsteps