Page 30 of We’re All Going to Die Tonight!

“Do we risk moving him?” Kaitlyn asks.

Caulder checks his side. “I think we have to. We can’t leave him up here alone.”

He looks at me. “Javi?”

I nod and step over to him. Together, as carefully as we can, we lift Lucas up and carry him down the stairs. We lay him down on the sofa in the living area before heading into the kitchen, where we can still see him.

I go straight to the sink and wash my hands. I watch the red circle the drain and disappear, and then, hands still dripping, I pick up the phone on the wall and punch in 911.

I stand there, receiver pressed to my ear, and wait for the dial tone I’ve heard in movies, but there’s nothing. I hit the buttons again, but still, there’s nothing.

“Am I doing something wrong here?” I ask the group, waving the phone at them. Avery walks over and takes it from me. She places it on the cradle and picks it up again and presses 9-1-1, just like I did, and holds the phone to her ear. The terror in her eyes tells me all I need to know.

“Of course,” I say. “The phone’s dead.”

“Could it be a power outage?” Avery asks, looking around at us. “Like, maybe we just need to flip a switch?”

“The lights are still on,” I point out. “If it were a power outage, we wouldn’t have lights and the phone would still work.”

“Oh,” Avery says, looking around. “Right.”

“So why is the phone out?” Kaitlyn says, her voice a cold sting. “And how do we get it back on?”

“Javi’s right. Power wouldn’t affect the phone line, but there might be a telephone box for an old house like this,” Caulder says, sounding robotic. “The only question is if we can open it.”

I look at Emerson. Somehow, he doesn’t seem scared enough for me. Maybe he’s in shock and I’m just an asshole. But I swear it’s only when he notices me staring at him that the terror reappears in his eyes.

“Well?” I ask. “Where’s the box?”

Emerson blinks. “How should I know?”

“You booked this place,” Kaitlyn snaps.

“Yeah, it didn’t exactly come with a manual,” Emerson says.

Kaitlyn glares at him. “We’re all going to die tonight because of your stupidity.”

“Kaitlyn,” Caulder says, voice a low warning.

I notice Marlene’s lip quivering out of the corner of my eye. She looks so much like my younger sister, Tati, that it scares the shit out of me. I don’t like when Tati or any of my sisters cry. Honestly, crying in general makes me extremely uncomfortable.

“Any boxes for the phone or electricity will be outside,” Caulder says, grabbing the flashlights Ms. Dorman left on the counter and passing one to each of us. “We should be able to find them if we follow the side of the house.”

“Wait,” Kaitlyn says. “We aren’t seriously going outside, are we? Where Emerson said the fucking attacker went?”

Caulder looks at each of us, and I follow his gaze. Marlene might be on the verge of passing out.

“Half of us can stay here,” Avery says. “You guys won’t be gone that long, right?”

Caulder’s face tells me he doesn’t like this suggestion, but we don’t have time to argue about it. And the idea of dragging Marlene out in the rain doesn’t seem right.

“Fine,” Caulder says. “Javi and I will go outside and look for the telephone box. And—”

“You’re right,” Emerson says, stepping forward with his flashlight held out like a torch. His eyes cut to Kaitlyn’s. “I have some responsibility here. I’ll go with you.”

“But you’re hurt,” Avery points out. “Maybe—”

“I’m fine,” Emerson says, sounding like the world’s biggest fucking martyr. “I can do this.”