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222 lines
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222 lines
8.4 KiB
HTML
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<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
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<head>
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<title>Mythlands - Chapter 35</title>
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<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="imperaWeb.css"/>
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<link rel="stylesheet" type=
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"application/vnd.adobe-page-template+xml" href=
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<body>
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<div id="text">
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<div class="section" id="xhtmldocuments">
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<h1>35</h1>
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<p>
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"Jack!"
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</p>
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<p>
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Kerry's voice was faint and distant
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</p>
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<p>
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Something shook him. He was too tired and hurt to rouse himself. His ears were ringing and the freezing cold still had him in an icy grip. Every inch of
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his body felt twisted and torn.
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</p>
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<p>
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He took a breath. It hurt his throat and his lungs, but the air was cool.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Come on, man. Wake yourself."
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</p>
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<p>
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Kerry's face was just a blur. He shook Jack again.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Rise and shine, man," Kerry said.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack groaned in protest, rolled on the stone, got half-way up. The world tilted and the great standing stones seemed to shift with it.
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</p>
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<p>
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Kerry's face was a mass of bruises.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack slowly sat up. He closed his eyes, took another breath.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Is she gone?"
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</p>
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<p>
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"You bet she is," Kerry said. "You did it. But I thought you were a goner this time for sure."
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</p>
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<p>
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"That's the way I feel. Did I close it? Did I close the gate?"
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</p>
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<p>
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"You did something. I don't know what, but there's nothing there any more. And that monster went screaming down there."
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</p>
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<p>
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"We're home then," Jack managed to say. "We're back. Back to Halloween."
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</p>
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<p>
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Kerry groaned this time. Jack could see the bruise across his cheek. He had taken a hard blow, but his eyes were still bright and somehow fierce.
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</p>
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<p>
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"We beat the bitch," he said.
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</p>
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<p>
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"We did. And I think I got us back to <em>before.</em> I mean, before it all went crazy. Now I can ask the Major…"
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</p>
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<p>
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He paused in mid sentence.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Where is she?"
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</p>
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<p>
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"I told you. She's gone."
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</p>
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<p>
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"No," Jack said. "Where's Corriwen?"
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</p>
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<p>
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They both turned round.
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</p>
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<p>
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"She was…" Kerry started, then stopped. "I think she was here. I was running with that thing coming on like a train. Then I threw it to you and she
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hit me such a wallop I went ass for elbow."
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</p>
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<p>
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"She was hit too," Jack said. His heart lurched. "She was hit. I saw it." He started to get up, ignoring the pain and they helped each other to their feet.
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</p>
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<p>
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"She was hit really hard and she went flying." He took a slow step and then another in the direction Corriwen had tumbled when the Morrigan had flipped her
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away, all the time expecting to find her broken body against one of the standing stones. The final blow from the Morrigan must have been devastating.
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</p>
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<p>
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He searched around, moving from one stone to the other before he saw it. There on the soft earth, was a small depression where she had landed and rolled,
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scuff marks in the thin grass.
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</p>
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<p>
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They continued on, towards the space between two standing stones.
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</p>
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<p>
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Then they vanished.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack looked at Kerry.
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</p>
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<p>
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"She must have been thrown through," Kerry said. Regret and relief were struggling in his expression. "Back home to Temair."
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack reached for his friend's arm. It was all coming back to him through a haze of hurt and numbness.
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</p>
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<p>
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He shook his head. "No," he said. "That's not the gate to Temair. The <em>Farward Gate. </em>She was thrown through the <em>wrong</em> one. They were all
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open at the same time. I saw different places out there."
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</p>
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<p>
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They locked eyes. "Kerry. I don't know where she's gone."
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</p>
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<p>
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<em>"Oh Jack</em>
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," Kerry whispered.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack picked up the amberhorn bow and his backpack. His jacket was in rags. One shoe was torn from sole to heel. The standing stones towered above them.
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</p>
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<p>
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Beyond them, Cromwath Blackwood's trees crowded close. Beyond them, some distance away was the tall wall that was built to keep people out. Now he and
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Kerry knew the astonishing secret.
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</p>
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<p>
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Beyond the wall was a world back to normal, he knew for sure. No creeping darkness, no whispering shade. No madness in the night.
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</p>
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<p>
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Beyond the wall the Major's telescope would still be focussed on the woods.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack had so much to tell him, so much to ask him. All the answers about who he was, all the things he needed to know, lay beyond the wall.
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</p>
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<p>
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He paused, heart aching with the hunger for that knowledge, to discover the whole truth about his father. He walked across the ring, to the space between
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the stones through which they had run, panicked, on that first night.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack leaned against the stone, utterly worn.
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</p>
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<p>
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He <em>had</em> to get back. Had to speak with the Major and find out all he knew.
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</p>
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<p>
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He took one step beyond the ring, aching with the need to find the whole truth about his father.
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</p>
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<p>
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But Corriwen Redthorn had saved his life. She had helped both of them survive against all the odds and she had helped them get here after all they had been
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through.
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</p>
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<p>
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The memory of their travels, their battles; her bravery. They all came back in a rush, and with them came the knowledge that he would have to act like the
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old heroes he had always admired.
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</p>
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<p>
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They made sacrifices. Their word was more than their bond. It was their life.<em></em>
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</p>
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<p>
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And Jack Flint owed a debt of life to Corriwen Redthorn. A debt he would repay come what may, no matter the cost; no matter the sacrifice.
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</p>
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<p>
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He turned back and faced across the capstone to the gateway through which Corriwen had disappeared.
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</p>
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<p>
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Kerry's eyes followed him.
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</p>
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<p>
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"What do you want to do?"
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</p>
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<p>
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"Oh Kerry," Jack breathed.
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</p>
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<p>
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Unsteadily, but very deliberately he limped across the ring of stones to the far side. He hurt all over and he felt he could sleep for a week.
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</p>
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<p>
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"She's lost somewhere. Lost and alone. I don't know where, but I've got the key to open the gate."
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</p>
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<p>
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He turned to face Kerry, looked him straight in the eye.
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</p>
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<p>
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"I'm going to find her," he said.
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</p>
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<p>
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Kerry nodded. Understanding was clear on his face. He clapped Jack on the back. They both winced.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Not on your own, you're not."
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</p>
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<p>
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"I can't ask you…" Jack began.
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</p>
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<p>
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Kerry held up a hand.
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</p>
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<p>
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"You're not. And you don't have to. We're not going to let a girl come between us, are we?"
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</p>
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<p>
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"Cross my heart," Jack said.
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</p>
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<p>
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And together they walked forward into the unknown.
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</p>
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<p class="centered">
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THE END
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</p>
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</div>
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</div>
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</body>
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</html>
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