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We didn’t argue.
We didn’t sayanything.
We walked the short distance upstairs to our rooms in heavy silence. Derek didn’t follow, but I couldn’t shake the feeling something was still off.
The whole thing had been too easy.
Penny’s room was the second door along the hallway. When we reached it, I stopped and turned to her. “Barricade yourself in,” I said, panic still coursing through me. “Find something, anything to wedge the door shut, okay?”
I don’t know why I said the words, but I couldn’t shake Derek’s reaction to discovering us returning from No Man’s Land. There had been something in his voice. He didn’t sound as angry as he did pleased to have found us sneaking back in.
Penny opened her mouth to argue. I could tell by the way her nose scrunched up that she wanted to tell me I was being stupid, but something changed her mind because she gave him a small nod and went inside.
When her door closed in my face, I headed for my room, the one I shared with Gabriel.
Jessica, Amy, and Mia shared, and Peter shared with the new kid. Penny had the smallest room. It was more like a closet, only just big enough for a single cot and dresser.
Gabe was snoring like usual. Once he was asleep, nothing could wake him. He slept through storms, breakfast, and he even slept through the one time Derek caught Lucas sneaking out.
I tiptoed around his bed to my own, got undressed, and climbed into bed, pulling up the comforter…
Thinking of Penny.
* * *
I woke startled, soaked through with sweat, like I had a fever, but I felt fine.
It must have been a nightmare.
But then I heard it.
Muffled voices.
A whimper.
Heart in my throat, I threw back the sheets and swung my legs over the edge of the bed, sitting as still as possible to listen for any sounds. Gabriel was asleep on his back, his mouth hanging open catching flies. Trying to hear anything over his snoring and the blood rushing in my ears was almost impossible, so I crept to the door and pressed one ear against the wood.
Silence.
Nothing but Gabe’s snores and utter sil—
I heard it again.
Before I knew what I was doing, I yanked the door open and rushed into the hallway. The cool air hit me, slowing me down for a second.
What in the hell was I doing?
All I knew was that something felt very wrong. The muffled noise was coming from the end of the hallway. It was hard to make out any clear voices or even tell if it was human; it could have quite easily been an injured animal outside, but my gut knew.
I fucking knew.
Back pressed flat against the wall, I inched my way down the hallway closer to Penny’s door. There was a sliver of moonlight coming in through the window at the opposite end of the hallway. My heart pounded frantically in my chest while I tried to come up with some kind of plan.
But it was too late.
Her door creaked opened, and Derek stepped out in the hallway, one hand adjusting the zipper on his pants. I held my breath, pressing myself further into the wall, trying to make myself invisible. Puke rushed up in my throat as I watched Derek smooth down his pants, and I had to clamp my mouth shut.
I couldn’t process what was happening.
