CHAPTER 1(iii)
There's blood on my hands. Again.
Sticky. Warm. Still fresh.
I stare at it for a second, not in horror—just in thought. The silence inside me doesn't waver. Doesn't flinch. Just lingers.
Luke's breathing hard beside me, knuckles white on the bat I tossed him earlier. He's trying to keep it together. His eyes are darting around—calculating, nervous, but not frozen. That's something.
We've saved three girls. Two conscious. One out cold. The one sitting on the floor—Jane, if I caught the name right—is crying like the world just fell apart. She's not wrong. The one standing—Scarlett—keeps bashing in the head of something that's long stopped twitching. Guess we all process differently.
Luke clears his throat, voice rough. "We can't stay here."
"Didn't plan to," I reply, already walking past him.
"Wait—what about Amy?" he nods at the unconscious girl on the floor.
I glance over. "She's not dead. Yet."
Jane flinches. Luke looks at me, disappointed. "Grey…"
I sigh, not out of frustration—but time is ticking, and his hesitation could get us all killed. "I'm not saying leave her. I'm saying decide fast."
Before Luke can answer, Scarlett steps in, brushing her hair back with a bloodied hand. "I've got her."
She lifts Amy onto her back, steady despite the dead weight. Luke helps Jane to her feet gently, murmuring something I can't hear, but whatever it is—it works. She clings to him, still trembling, but she walks.
We move.
The hallway is quiet in a wrong kind of way. Every creak is too loud. Every shadow too still. I take the lead—silent, focused. Luke follows close, glancing over his shoulder more than once to make sure the girls are behind.
We get to the stairwell.
Third floor. Second.
I can hear Luke's breathing even out. He's calming down, slipping into survival mode. Not fearless. Just focused. It suits him.
At the bottom floor, I peek through the cracked door. The lot's mostly clear. Luke's truck is parked at the edge, untouched. Guess miracles still happen.
"Toss me the keys," I say.
Luke does without hesitation. "It's got half a tank. Should get us out of city lines."
"Good."
Scarlett lays Amy across the back seat like she's done it before. Jane gets in beside her. Luke moves to the driver's seat.
I pause, just for a second, looking out at the smoke rising in the distance.
"Grey," Luke calls softly, "We can go now."
I get in, shutting the door behind me.
The engine roars to life.
As we speed off, I glance at the rearview mirror—campus getting smaller, fires still growing.
"Do you think… this is everywhere?" Luke asks quietly.
I rest my head back against the seat. "It doesn't matter. It's here now."
Luke doesn't respond, but I catch him glance at me—like he's trying to figure out if I'm okay. I don't give him an answer. I just close my eyes.
The road's ahead. The past is burning behind us.
We move forward.