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We hear two loud pops, and someone screams. “Gunshots,” Leo says.

I have words, but I’m so scared I’ve forgotten how to use them. Leo shoves a hand into his pants pocket and pulls out his key card. “Where’s Alma?”

“She’s still in your office. The explosion didn’t affect D hall.”

“D used to be a bomb shelter,” he says. “Take this.” He holds up the key card. “The security doors for D will stay locked because of the generators. You’re safe back there.”

My hand shakes when I take the card.

“Promise me you’ll stay there.”

“I promise,” I lie. He grabs my hand, squeezes it, and takes off toward the security doors.

I have the sinking feeling that it’s the last time I will ever see Leo Grayson.

Chapter27

The First ThingI do when I get back to Leo’s office is check the landline. No dial tone. A knot forms in my belly. I snatch up the iPad and dial 911. We are in a dead zone, and Leo said they cut the power.

“Dammit!”

Alma’s whimper reminds me that she’s there. I look around the empty room, confused until another sniffling sound comes from beneath the desk. I find her curled up in a ball, her eyes bulging with fear.

It takes me several tries to coax her out.

“Dr. Grayson said that this part of the hospital was a bomb shelter. The power is probably run by a separate generator. That must be why the lights are still on. You told Dr. Grayson about their plan?”

She nods.

I take her hand and she shuffles closer, cocking her head sideways at me, and taps the iPad.

“You want me to look at this now?”

Opening her last message to Leo, she hands it back to me, motioning for me to scroll up. I go past everything I just read,stopping at their last therapy session two weeks ago. They talk about everything from her delusions to regular therapy thoughts. I notice the same name standing out as I scroll. Marshal. Marshal. Did he do this somehow?

I breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth. The walls of the office feel like they’re closing in on me. I cannot just sit here not knowing what is going on and where everyone is. Ten minutes go by. Alma and I stand stiff as statues, watching the door. What if the same explosion happened on the other side of the hospital? People would be hurt. They’d need help. Another ten minutes go by, and I can’t take it anymore.

I open Leo’s office door decidedly. “We have to get out of here, Alma.”

She stands, asking a thousand questions with her eyes.

“I don’t know what’s happening out there, but I can’t sit like a duck. You can stay if you want.”

She shakes her head.

“Okay,” I say. “Let’s go…”

I’m acutely aware of the six doors we pass on the way out. The people behind them are dangerous, but how can I just leave them here? If there is a fire they’ll burn alive, trapped like animals behind the doors.Help is coming, I tell myself.Help will come for them.I push it out of my mind.

I focus on getting Alma to safety.

As soon as we leave D, the light leaves us as well. The red emergency lights have stopped flashing. The only light we have now comes from the skylights. We pluck our way through what used to be the annex. Wires hang from what’s left of the ceiling like vines. When we’re halfway there, Alma slips on blood and goes sprawling. She’s hyperventilating as I help her up. She sees the blood on her hands and loses it. She collapses in a heap, holding her hands as far away from the rest of her as she can. She cries like a kitten, making horrible, grief-stricken noises.I drag her to her feet, away from the source of the blood. It’s Bouncer. I close my eyes, but I see her on the backs of my eyelids, face up, her hands above her head. The bottom half of her body is covered in concrete. She looks like she’s sleeping. I crouch down to check her pulse. Alma looks at me inquiringly, then pounds her chest with both fists when I shake my head. I know she’s about to lose it. I’ve seen her detach and enter a catatonic state before. I hold both of her wrists gently in my hands and make eye contact. She tries to get away from me, wiry little body stiffening up with every second.

“You are alive and I am alive,” I say firmly. “Do you want to stay that way? Because I certainly do.” She looks me in the eyes, a rare thing for Alma, then nods. We’re just starting to move again when I hear voices. I open my mouth to call for help when something hard hits my shoulder.

“Agh!” I spin around to see Alma with her finger pressed against her lips. She hit me. Before I can ask why, she tackles me with all of her ninety pounds.

She catches me off guard, and I tumble. My hand reaches to break my fall and lands on something sharp. My yelp of pain is muffled by a tiny hand. The voices are loud now. They’re coming from the security door. Alma is half on top of me, and I feel her shaking.