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Play Dead

Ryan Brown
Chapters (51)
  1. Cover Page
  2. PLAY DEAD
  3. PROLOGUE
  4. CHAPTER 1
  5. CHAPTER 2
  6. CHAPTER 3
  7. CHAPTER 4
  8. CHAPTER 5
  9. CHAPTER 6
  10. CHAPTER 7
  11. CHAPTER 8
  12. CHAPTER 9
  13. CHAPTER 10
  14. CHAPTER 11
  15. CHAPTER 12
  16. CHAPTER 13
  17. CHAPTER 14
  18. CHAPTER 15
  19. CHAPTER 16
  20. CHAPTER 17
  21. CHAPTER 18
  22. CHAPTER 19
  23. CHAPTER 20
  24. CHAPTER 21
  25. CHAPTER 22
  26. CHAPTER 23
  27. CHAPTER 24
  28. CHAPTER 25
  29. CHAPTER 26
  30. CHAPTER 27
  31. CHAPTER 28
  32. CHAPTER 29
  33. CHAPTER 30
  34. CHAPTER 31
  35. CHAPTER 32
  36. CHAPTER 33
  37. CHAPTER 34
  38. CHAPTER 35
  39. CHAPTER 36
  40. CHAPTER 37
  41. CHAPTER 38
  42. CHAPTER 39
  43. CHAPTER 40
  44. CHAPTER 41
  45. CHAPTER 42
  46. CHAPTER 43
  47. CHAPTER 44
  48. CHAPTER 45
  49. CHAPTER 46
  50. CHAPTER 47
  51. CHAPTER 48

Cover Page

PLAY DEAD

PLAY DEAD

RYAN BROWN

image
image Gallery Books
A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2010 by Ryan Brown

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Pocket Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Gallery Books hardcover edition May 2010

Gallery and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected].

The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN 978-1-4391-7130-1
ISBN 978-1-4391-7161-5 (ebook)

For Victoria and Raff, with all my love.

PROLOGUE

THE drums outside beat hard enough to form ripples in the water.

He knelt with his face only inches above the surface and watched the small concentric rings expand with each percussive thump.

He watched until his nausea subsided, then came up off his knees. The toilet was clean, but he kicked the flush handle anyway. He stepped out of the stall and struggled against shaky hands to thread the laces at the fly of his pants.

He felt worse for having not been sick. He had hoped that in getting sick he might purge himself of…everything.

The nerves. The fear. The regret.

Now he would carry all of it onto the field.

Hell, maybe it was better that way. Maybe it was the only way he could get through this.

His cleats tapped over slick tile as he moved past shower stalls, towel bins, Gatorade coolers, and a chalkboard on which remained the pale ghosts of innumerable X’s and O’s.

Back at his locker he continued to dress. Over the past four years the routine had become mindless, something he did as quickly as possible to get it over with. But now he was happy to stall. He approached the work methodically, taking special care with every detail. Shoelaces were double knotted, tucked in, and taped over. Ankles were wrapped as stiffly as plaster casts. His jersey—crisply pressed and wrapped snugly over his shoulder pads—went on last.