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People—the surviving guests. They come from everywhere. From behind vendor tents, the maze, Ward House, the bonfires. Some are bloody, barefoot and half-dressed. Some still wear their ridiculous Halloween costumes.

But they’re all walking slowly—toward us.

“No.” I step backward.

Ezra pulls me closer. “They’re Witnesses.”

“To what?”

Nobody answers.

Fantastic.

Mariah and Ali appear in the crowd. “MARIAH!”

Her head lifts. “SAGE!”

Thank God.

She breaks from the procession, her and Ali run. But the moment they leave the line, roots burst from the ground.

“RUN!”

Mariah screams and Ali grabs her hand. They jump over one root as another snaps toward them.

Rhett moves fast and catches Ali around the waist.

Malakai grabs Mariah and they pull them across.

The roots stop at the edge of the Communion ground.

Mariah slams into me and we both stumble a bit.

“Oh my God.”

She’s crying. I’m crying. I don’t care.

“Are you okay?” She asks but I shake my head.

“No, I’m fucking not.”

“Fair.”

Ali wraps her arms around us. For three seconds, we’re just three women clinging to each other in the middle of hell.

Then Mariah pulls back. “What the fuck is that?” She points.

The Harvest leans over the field.

“Long story.”

“We were gone twenty minutes!”

“It has been a very productive twenty minutes.”

“Sage!”

“I know!”