"Keanu," Tod said suddenly.Conor kicked him. Then he real<strong>is</strong>ed that he was sitting down, which meant that Tod had not received<strong>the</strong> kick and now h<strong>is</strong> knee felt funny."Who?" Ludlow asked."<strong>Not</strong>hing," Johnny said, as Conor managed in a weird fit of acrobatics to surreptitiously knee Tod in <strong>the</strong>back. "He coughed."
Group B: Shane, Perry, Tommy, Chr<strong>is</strong>, Matt"Hey, what's that-"Speeding up <strong>the</strong> crawl, spurred on by <strong>the</strong> prom<strong>is</strong>e of a change in scenery, a way out of <strong>the</strong> labyrinth;brought to a halt by <strong>the</strong> sight of <strong>the</strong> metal grille, but beyond that not more corridor, just empty space,dark space, <strong>the</strong> rush of water suddenly audible-Desperate fingers clawing at <strong>the</strong> grille, feeling, exploring, ano<strong>the</strong>r pair of hands join <strong>the</strong> first, grasping fora hinge, an opening-"Stuck," Shane said. "It's ei<strong>the</strong>r rusted over or-" He got a better grip on <strong>the</strong> grille, shook it forcefully. Itbudged slightly."Do you hear water?" Chr<strong>is</strong> asked from next to him, peeking out through <strong>the</strong> grille for hope of a glimpsebelow. He made out <strong>the</strong> far-off sparkle of light on flowing water, a waterfall, perhaps, or river of somesort."Move back," Shane said. "I'll try to kick it in."He got down on <strong>the</strong> ground and shoved h<strong>is</strong> foot against <strong>the</strong> grille, again, again... on <strong>the</strong> third time itfinally gave, its sides coming clean off <strong>the</strong> walls to land with a d<strong>is</strong>tant but d<strong>is</strong>tinct splash.Shane poked h<strong>is</strong> head out <strong>the</strong> hole and peered downwards. <strong>Not</strong>hing much. He reached out a hand andfelt along <strong>the</strong> side of <strong>the</strong> wall below <strong>the</strong>m, feeling for grooves or handholds or-A ladder.He closed h<strong>is</strong> hand over <strong>the</strong> cold metal of <strong>the</strong> top rung, <strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong> rung after that, and gazed back out at<strong>the</strong> darkness. Shane withdrew h<strong>is</strong> head from <strong>the</strong> opening."There's a ladder <strong>the</strong>re," he told <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs. "I don't know where it leads.""A ladder?" Chr<strong>is</strong> echoed. "Did we end up in <strong>the</strong> water system or something?""Whatever it <strong>is</strong>, it's too late now," Perry said. He looked back <strong>the</strong> way <strong>the</strong>y had come. "We can't retraceour steps.""So we go down," Shane stated."It's dark," Tommy said quietly. Claustrophobia, homesickness, Jjaks' death, and now <strong>the</strong> yawning pit ofdarkness through which he'd need to climb, no ground below that <strong>the</strong>y could see, perhaps <strong>the</strong> ladderbroke off halfway and <strong>the</strong>y'd be left clinging <strong>the</strong>re until <strong>the</strong>y fell-"Right," Shane said. He took a deep breath. "I'll go first. I'll see if it goes anywhere, and-""I'll go," Matt interrupted."...Sure?"Matt crawled over to <strong>the</strong> front, Chr<strong>is</strong> moving back to let him through. He lowered himself over <strong>the</strong> edge,h<strong>is</strong> feet finding <strong>the</strong> rungs of <strong>the</strong> ladder, hands moving down to grasp <strong>the</strong> sides.
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"Your behaviour these past few mont
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Neo sank down on the sofa.He looked
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"By a friend of one of the others w
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Next morning62nd Floor. Arrival Lob
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It is in fact at the cafeteria that
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'There is no exit here', read the h
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Back from his breakfast, Griffin sa
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Griffin glanced back at the three p
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Alex looked up."...That's Paul, tha
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The floor hackers stared at their l
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"Okay," Conor continued. "Situation
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"We want to get out as much as you
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Yawning, Paul pushed open the door
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Jack lunged at his neck. Both of th
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Then they fell silent again as Neo
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"I did you a favour, Jack," Griffin
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"That's one," Neo said helpfully, p
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New guy gave a start. "Uh," he said
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His mom made better waffles than th
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Tommy reluctantly handed over the b
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It is after a day or two living at
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There had existed for a time an Ame
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he was pretty sure was a broken nos
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Night. A shortage of actual beds me
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Neo yanked his finger away to safet
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Neo sat by himself in the cafeteria
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- Page 75 and 76: "It's John, assholes."John Constant
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- Page 81 and 82: At the rear, not-Tim turned to face
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- Page 87 and 88: "Nah," Jesse said. "Might n-... - h
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- Page 105 and 106: "...Er," said Dem. He put the most
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- Page 155: 0704270/006/GRA"There are two kinds