Page 153 of The Last Session

“Karen.” I whispered. “We have to hide. Steven and Joe—I don’t know where they are. We have to hide until the police get here.”

She sat up slowly, looking stunned. “Where—”

“They fell.” It hadn’t hit me yet, the full force of what had just happened. And in fact I didn’t want it to—not until Karen and I were safe.

“Oh no,” she wailed.

“Karen, shh. We need to be quiet. Where should we go?”

“Um.” She gulped. “Let’s go to my room. I can turn on the Wi-Fi on the way.”

“Okay.” I helped her up. We stepped carefully over Sol’s body in the doorway, went down the metal staircase that creaked too loudly.

We started hearing it when we reached the second-floor landing: faint yells. Both of us stopped, clutching each other.

It came again: “Help!”

“It’s coming from the cave.” Karen hurried down the stairs, through the courtyard and into the room with the purple door. I followed, fear spiraling through my chest.

“Karen, wait!” I paused in the doorway as she approached the top of the stone staircase.

“Joe?” she called.

“Karen!” His voice went up an octave. “He fucking shot me! That motherfucker shot me!”

“Steven?” she said.

“Yes!”

“Where is he?”

“He’s down here. I think he’s… fuck.” Joe’s voice cracked into a sob. “I didn’t want to hurt him, Karen. But he was shooting at me!”

“I know, hon.” Karen bobbed her head. “It’s okay. We’re going to get help.”

“It’s bleeding a lot, Karen.” Now he was fully crying. “It really hurts.”

“Just stay put. We’ll get help.” Face pale, Karen came away from the edge and shut the inner door, hiding the hole from sight. She turned the dead bolt on the outside.

“What should we do?” I hissed. I couldn’t imagine helping our captor, but I also didn’t want to be the reason he died.

“Nothing.” Karen shook her head. “We can’t trust him, and he still has a gun. I’m going to get Sol’s phone and call an ambulance. It’ll take them a while to get here.”

I followed her back into the courtyard, but paused as she started back up the stairs. “I need to check on Catherine. I think she’s gone, but…”

“You do that.” Karen gave a brisk nod.

Outside, the indigo sky was just starting to lighten. It felt suddenly difficult to lift my feet, to walk over to the pile.

For a moment I just looked, breathing in the clean, herbal air now tinged with a metallic undertone. Catherine and Moon were still locked in an embrace, facing each other. Catherine’s copper hair covered most of her face, except for her mouth, which was open in an unending scream. Beneath her crown, the ground was dark with blood.

I bent down next to her, pressing my fingers to her throat even as I knew she was dead.

She’d saved me. In my mind’s eye, I saw the alternative play out: Moon managing to raise the gun, steady herself, shoot me straight in the heart.

A small movement, then a soft moan.

It was Moon. She rolled her head upwards. Her eyes popped open, staring up at the sky.