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Page 361
Her knees caught the kid dropping onto her. His breath gusted out. She shoved at his bare chest, felt his weight shift, and saw him tumble away. He crashed against the edge of the coffee table and fell to the floor.
Denise flipped herself over. On hands and knees, she scuttled along the sofa. From the other side came thuds and grunts. Tom must've come to help her. Reaching out, she grabbed the table lamp. She hooked her other hand over the sofa back and pulled herself up.
Tom was there about to drive the knife end of his spear into the chest of the kid at his feet. But Kara, a running blur in her pale nightgown, came up behind him swinging her poker.
'No!' Denise blurted.
The brass handle crashed against the side of Tom's head. He dropped his spear and stumbled away, reeling.
'Kara!'
The girl chased after him and hit him again. He went down on one knee, covering his head.
'What're you doing!'
The sofa shook with a sudden jolt. A hand grabbed Denise's ankle.
'Gotcha!'
She swung the lamp off the table and twisted around. A dark arm darted up. She glimpsed a rod of some kind in the hand. Yelped as spikes jabbed deep into her right buttock. Then the base of the lamp clubbed the guy's face. His head was knocked back.

 
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