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Sam and Megan start whispering back and forth behind me.
"Why isn't she shooting her?" That's Sam.
"I think she's scared." That's Megan.
"I told you they should have given me the gun!"
"Both of you be quiet!" I hiss. Shooting her is not an option. It's all about the risk, Zombie. If I blow a hole in the door and miss then she'll get in and we'll all die. If I wait until I have no choice but to shoot, we might die anyways. I have to leave it to Cassie and Evan and Dumbo.
And where the hell are Zombie and Poundcake?
Cassie outside of the door: "Leave. My. Brother. Alone."
And the supermodel: "That adorable little boy? He's your brother? I'm sorry, Cassiopeia, I didn't know. He's already dead."
I look at Sam-- almost as if I'm checking to see if he really is dead. I race toward the window and look at the ground. A two-story drop. If I hold them really close to my chest and make sure I land on my back, they'll both have a chance to find Zombie and the others and get the fuck out of here.
"We can't go out that way!" Megan cries. "We'll die!"
I go back to the door. She's right. Even with my body blocking theirs, the risk of broken bones is too high. We have to wait. A door slams against a wall. A rifle discharges. There's no time to wait. So I don't wait. "Lock the door behind me." I throw open the door and bound outside. I hear the door shut and the lock click.
Evan is on the floor in his boxers, half in the hall and half in his room; Cassie is clinging to Poundcake's ankles on the floor by the stairwell; the door to the stairwell flies open and Zombie runs in shouting, "Freeze!" like this is a really bad cop movie on Netflix; the crazy supermodel is in the room across from the room I was just in, but she's closed the door and I hear the lock clicking into place.
Those locks are made out of fucking steel, I swear.
Zombie hopped over Poundcake and Cassie and limped down the hall to me. One hand on my arm holding tight, the other motioning to Poundcake, saying, "She's in there."
Cassie jumped up, nose crooked and blood and tears covering most of her face, and raced down the hall to the door keeping her brother safe. She yanked on the handle.
"It's locked," I tell her.
She starts pounding on the door. "Sam! Sam, open up! It's me!"
