Page 33 of We’re All Going to Die Tonight!

I keep my voice low, low enough that only Marlene can hear, as I guide her through breathing. She’s grabbed my hands again, squeezing them as she struggles through short, shaky breaths.

“Caulder,” I say, keeping my eyes on Marlene. “Can you get me an ice cube?”

Caulder doesn’t question me. I hear his footsteps, the opening of the freezer door; then his hand is next to mine, holding a spherical ice cube, the kind Emerson was using for his drinks.

I take it from him and slip it into Marlene’s hands. She jolts at the cold, but I wrap my hands around hers and make her hold on to it.

“It’ll shock your nervous system,” I tell her. “And keep breathing. Hold the breath in your stomach for a second before you let it go. That’s it.”

I feel Caulder’s eyes on me still. He’s at my side, watching Marlene’s breathing slowly steady, her sobs turning to hiccups.

“Javi,” Caulder says, louder now. “Can you check the rooms one more time? Go with Emerson. We need to secure the house.”

Javi nods, turning and dragging Emerson out by the arm, ignoring Emerson’s protests.

I can hear them climbing the stairs and walking down the hall. Marlene hiccups again, but her breathing sounds almost normal. Eventually, I loosen my hold on her hands.

“I’m sorry,” Marlene says, shivering now. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I tell her. “It’s a lot. Just try to breathe, okay?”

“Did you guys fix the phone?” Kaitlyn asks, glancing at the landline. I follow her gaze. The landline’s on the counter, a smooth, cream-colored, plastic antique. While the boys were gone, I tried calling 911 again, but there was still nothing on the other end.

Caulder shakes his head. “We checked the telephone box and the breaker. Nothing was wrong with the breaker. And the telephone box…”

Caulder looks at Marlene, seeming to decide something.

“Someone ripped all the wires out,” he says.

Kaitlyn and I look at each other. She asks the question I’m thinking.

“What does that mean?”

“It means someone cut the line on purpose,” he says. “Someone killed Jay and then cut the line.”

There’s a thud around the corner. It has to just be Javi and Emerson moving on to the downstairs rooms. I force myself not to give in to my own anxiety, to stay in the present.

“So someone is trying to…” Kaitlyn stumbles over the words, and for the first time, I hear fear in her voice. “To kill us?”

Caulder’s jaw tightens. I see now the line he’s walking, trying to keep us all from falling apart. But hiding the truth won’t save us.

“It could just be an intruder,” he reasons. “Someone who tried to break in here thinking it was empty, then finding us. They panicked when they saw Emerson and Lucas—attacked them and fled. Then they ran into Jay. Maybe that was another rash decision. There was a rock out there with…”

Another look at Marlene. She hiccups, looking down at the ground, as if keeping steady eye contact with the tile will block out whatever Caulder’s about to say.

“A lot of blood,” Caulder finishes. “But it might’ve been an accident. He could’ve fallen.”

Now I see the lie in his eyes, in the set of his jaw. As I watch him, Javi and Emerson appear in the hallway. Javi checks Lucas, then confirms the front door’s still locked. Emerson fidgets near him, his eyes darting back to Lucas and then to the rest of us.

“Might’ve,” Kaitlyn says, her own gaze bouncing to Lucas. “But probably not.”

There’s silence at her words, something hollow and gaping. She looks around at each of us before speaking again.

“What about the other teachers?” Kaitlyn demands. “Were they out there, too?”

“We didn’t see anyone else,” Javi answers. “But we also didn’t look.”

“So they could be,” Kaitlyn continues. “Either they did this or—”