The atmosphere at the Ant Hill shifted from cold to suffocating. Roch didn't need to see the bandages to know something had changed; he could smell the defiance. He spent the morning sitting on his porch, cleaning his rifle, his eyes tracking every movement in the yard like a hawk watching field mice.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXNOHUoVDgw
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At noon, he didn't ring the bell. He roared.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVkM1rRE17H
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"Gather! The Colony is sick! There is a parasite among us!"92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxfsO3RtS0K
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Gabrielle felt a jolt of pure ice strike her heart. She glanced at Marie, who was standing near the trench, her face pale. The clean gauze was hidden beneath the heavy, mud-caked wool of her sock, but every step Marie took was too steady, too rhythmic. It was a "miracle" that Roch hadn't authorized.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡygV8ea6AuS
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The followers shuffled into a circle. Jacques was already there, his head bowed lower than usual, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU57BL0vsLM
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"The Spirit is restless," Roch began, pacing the center of the circle. He stopped in front of Jacques. "Jacques. You were the Prophet’s eyes last night. You were tasked with guarding the Sanctuary. Tell me... did the wind speak to you?"92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0nQWR4lYl
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Jacques didn't look up. "Only the wind, Moses."92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt2KNVySKex
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Roch’s hand moved like a flash, his heavy staff catching Jacques across the side of the face. The man collapsed into the mud with a wet thud. Marie let out a small, strangled gasp, and Gabrielle gripped her arm, squeezing hard. Don't move. Don't breathe.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtS2Of4TwgO
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"Liar!" Roch screamed, his face turning a dark, bruised purple. "I smelled the sting of the city in my cabin this morning. Alcohol. Clean cotton. Someone has been stealing from the Father to feed the flesh!"92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFigu3Cq8Ww
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He turned his gaze toward Gabrielle. He knew. He had always known. He was playing with them, enjoying the way their terror ripened in the sun.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXmksrUpSFj
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"Jacques," Roch said, his voice dropping to a terrifyingly soft whisper. "You allowed a thief to enter the Sanctuary. You allowed the 'bad blood' to be coddled. You have weakened the Colony."92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJVj1BqpTk
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Roch signaled to two of his strongest enforcers—men who had long since lost their souls to his rhetoric. They grabbed Jacques and dragged him toward a large, upright wooden post used for skinning deer. They lashed his wrists above his head.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ96t5XqQRHI
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"Gabrielle," Roch called out. "Step forward."92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJ5NzvaUYv
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Gabrielle’s legs felt like lead. She stepped into the circle, the mud squelching between her bare toes.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDnUEmzltcJ
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"You love your sister, don't you?" Roch asked, gesturing toward Marie. "You want her to be well. You think you are a savior." He handed Gabrielle a heavy, braided leather strap. "Jacques failed in his duty because he was soft. If you are not soft—if you truly belong to the Ant Hill—you will excise his weakness. Ten lashes. For the good of his soul."92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKFTpdC6rni
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The world tilted. If she refused, Roch would search them. He would find the bandages on Marie, and the "surgery" that would follow would be fatal. If she obeyed, she would become the very monster she hated.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAeyIdbWMJP
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Jacques looked up at her. His eye was already swelling shut, blood dripping from his lip. He saw the supplies hidden in the shadows of her mind. He saw Marie. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, he nodded.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFluSfgXD0
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Do it, his eyes pleaded. Keep the secret.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf55OOgWI9r
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Gabrielle took the strap. Her hands were shaking so violently she nearly dropped it.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7bFu7882i
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"Now!" Roch commanded.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXSTjiQ0hKs
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The first strike was weak, a glancing blow across Jacques’s ribs.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡklCFs6N5ST
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"Again!" Roch roared. "Like an Ant! Without feeling! Without ego!"92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCrl7fKQzS
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Gabrielle closed her eyes and struck. The sound of the leather hitting skin was like a gunshot in the silent forest. One. Two. Three. Each time, a part of Gabrielle died. She wasn't just hitting Jacques; she was hitting the last remains of her own humanity.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbHKao6Ehu
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By the tenth strike, Jacques was sagging in his restraints, his back a map of angry red welts. Gabrielle dropped the strap, her breath coming in ragged, sobbing gasps. She looked at her hands—they were the same hands that had bandaged Marie’s feet, now stained with the sweat and pain of a man who had tried to help her.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQj4pSDiack
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"Good," Roch whispered, stepping close to her. He reached out and wiped a tear from her cheek with a filthy finger. "The Ant does not cry for the parasite. You are learning, Gabrielle. You are becoming stone."92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhfTZ15JT1p
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He turned to the group. "Untie him. Throw him in the root cellar. No food for three days. Let the hunger eat the rest of the lies."92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz92NImidJI
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As the circle broke, Gabrielle caught Marie’s eye. The younger girl was looking at her with horror—not at Roch, but at her.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZSEySH5Oxg
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Gabrielle realized the true genius of Roch’s cruelty. He hadn't just punished Jacques. He had isolated Gabrielle. He had made her a participant in his violence, ensuring that even if she escaped, she would never feel clean again.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKOxKbULfwW
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The Breaking Point92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVaaQEYPUCL
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The secret is safe, but the cost was Jacques's blood and Marie's trust. The "Ant Hill" is winning.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQbptcQsqZ
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1234 copyright protection88ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3VlaCIgWyD 尼92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6sVVs4S61x