My mother will do her best to persuade them from going, just as she did all those years ago. Shele tell them of the dangers, and shele remind them that weare living flesh ourselves – meat in a world of starving dogs – and that we need to stay together to keep ourselves alive. And if they dont listen to her, Ile let the voice come to them and tell them they want to stay, and I think theyle accept it for now.

But the rising will come again.

I know it.

Ive already seen it beginning.

I saw it through the eyes of a neighboring pack from the mountains as they scavenged the carcass pit dug by the Dau in the woodland to the west of the town wall---I saw them feasting on the rotting dead, and I saw the Dau Fighters opening fire from the watchtowers---I saw 6 dogs shot dead. And the following night I saw the rest of the pack – 15-strong – returning to wreak their brutal revenge on a family of Dau civilians---and I saw 5 humans torn to pieces---

The killing will continue – an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a claw for another bloodied claw – until eventually it will be war.

I know it.

Its coming.

Dog against human.

Human against dog.

The skies will burn again.

Copyright

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.

Copyright © 2018 by Kevin Brooks

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.

First U.S. electronic edition 2020
First published by Electric Monkey, an imprint of Egmont UK Limited, 2018

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number pending

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