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"Get this guy a drink!" Fowler said to the roohts sauntered up to Will with a bottle of vodka in her hand She had dark eyes and short, white, wispy hair, like a baby chick She smiled and tilted the bottle toward his lips

"Open wide," she said

Will parted his lips and let her pour vodka into hisher bottle with others

"Where did this vodka come from?" Will said

"Tiffy found two crates in a locked closet off the soldiers’ infirmary," Fowler said

"Man, what a score," Will said His bottle of honey didn’t seem so impressive anymore

"Hey, let roup of people standing in a circle "This is Beaumont, Robert, Preston, Beatrice, Matt, Chauncey, Babs, Stewart, Dianne, and Fisk Everybody, this is … What was your naht Everybody, this is Will"

"Out of the way!" someone screamed from behind Will

He turned to see Gates, on all fours, atop a urneys Two other Saints pushed the wobbling stack of gurneys, running at a full clip

"Faster!" Gates yelled "Faster!"

The Saints smiled like fools as they poured on the speed, and the unstable gurney-tower sped into the crowded mess hall Gates stood and spread his ar hair flapping behind hiurney tower tipped, and ca down Gates flew over the heads of so at one of the metal tables, and slammed to the floor where Will couldn’t see

Five seconds later, he popped up to his feet, grinningoff his vodka bottle, only to discover that he held only the bottle’s neck and the rest of it had shattered in the fall He laughed, and held his fists over his head in victory anyway The croent nuts for it Best party entrance Will had ever seen Of course, he’d never gotten the chance to go to a real high school party before the quarantine In a way, this was his first

"That was insane!" Fowler shouted

Gates looked over at Fowler, still riding the high of his stunt, and his clear eye locked onto Will His other eye was shut

"I know this guy," Gates said, s He walked over "How are you here?"

"I puked on him so I invited hi "Aw, shit I wasn’t expecting that Well, that’s the price of aduess What do you say, Will, was it worth it?"

"Believe it or not, the puke was one of the better parts of my day"

"Ha-ha, nice Well, you’re here now," Gates said, finally opening his other eye It was still red "Welcome to our party"

"What’s the occasion?"

"We found vodka"

"That’s it?"

"You need uess not"

"Come sit with us"

Will followed Gates and the others to a nearbyat his red eye A pale boy in a purple Patagonia fleece ca up to Gates

"You are a madman, I can’t believe you just did that!" the boy said

"It was fun," Gates said

"Fuckin’ ot a lot of ’em around here," Will said

"Shit, I’uy"

"Liar!" a ser said "Gates, you are a lunatic, and you know it You filled a water gun with your own blood to spray on soldiers to see if they would die"