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lean against a tree and cough until the awful tickle in his throat would let him catch air. |
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When, at last, his breath came, he straightened up and turned around. Tears were streaming down his face from the coughing. |
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Bobby's abrupt blow to the side of his head did not register pain until Matty went down and Bobby had pounced on him, his knees straddling his chest. Matty looked up to see an open palm come down again against the side of his cheek. He tried to block it but Michael and Jackie were on his arms. Again the hand came down, then backhanded the other side of his face. Through the pain his first thought was how for the next two weeks he'd go to school with a huge black eye and everybody would know who got him. |
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Matty cried out from the pain, but when he opened his mouth Jackie stuffed it with a fistful of dead leaves. |
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What happened next, Matty would only vaguely recall through a blood haze. All that registered was an eruption someplace at the core of his brain. An eruption that made his body shudder. He heard himself make a sound he didn't recognize. A deep-throated, growling sound. |
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The next moment he tore his arms free, sending Michael and Jackie rolling backward. Matty clawed at Bobby, his fingers yearning for flesh but only catching the loose fabric of the sweatshirt. With a sharp snap, he pulled Bobby to him. Their foreheads cracked and Bobby let out a yelp. In an instant Matty was on his feet. He lifted Bobby up by the front of his shirt until his feet dangled, then dropped him. The next moment Matty was on him, clawing his face and neck and growling. All he would recall of the moment was the urge to sink his teeth into the doughy flesh of Bobby's face and tear it off. |
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Bobby was colorless with fright. "Help me," he screamed. |
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Matty flashed his head around at the other two. The noise in his head was a roar. |
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The others were stunned. "We were just joking," Michael said. "Let him go. Please." |
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Jackie picked up a heavy stick, holding it in front of him like a lance. "Let him up, Matty, c'mon." He was crying. Bobby was crying. "You let him up or else." |
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"He's bleeding," Michael said. |
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