Page 72 of We’re All Going to Die Tonight!

That has to be a good sign, doesn’t it? They wouldn’t lock the door if they…if someone had gotten in.

I rattle the doorknob and pound on the door.

“Avery?” I yell, louder than I probably should. “Avery, are you okay? Avery, it’s Caulder, let—”

The door flies open, and for a moment, I’m frozen, staring at bright green eyes that are wide at the sight of me, at her lips, slightly open.

“Caulder?”

The moment breaks, and I go flying inside. Avery throws her arms out to catch me, but I’m too big, and I crash forward, sending us both to the ground. I manage to turn so I don’t smash her, instead bringing her down in a heap on top of me.

If her eyes were wide before, they’re wider now. I wait for her to scurry away, to show her disgust at how close we are—but she stays where she is, her chest on my chest, her legs flung out to the side, her face hovering above mine. She’s staring at me as if she doesn’t believe I’m real, and she reaches out a hand and touches my cheek.

“You’re alive,” she says, and her eyes actually start to sparkle with tears. “You’re alive.”

I sit up, and she reaches her arms around my neck, burying her face in my shoulder as she sobs. I don’t know what to do, not really, until finally, I put my arms around her and just hold her tighter and let her cry.

“You asshole,” she mumbles against my neck.

It forces a laugh out of me. Only Avery could be hanging on to me for dear life and insulting me at the same time.

“Ahem,” a voice interrupts, and Avery jumps and looks up.

Kaitlyn’s standing there, one hand on her cocked hip, and something between shock and a smirk playing across her face.

“Well then,” she says, watching as Avery steps awkwardly away from me. “I guess Emerson was right.”

There’s something dark in her eyes that I don’t like, a kind of hatred. But also sadness. I spot tears as well, angry tears. And then it hits me: Javi will never come through that door. She’ll never hug him or touch him again.

Shame burrows in my gut.

“I expected better,” she says, looking Avery up and down, then turns and stalks back to the living room.

I exchange a glance with Avery—or I try to. She’s staring after Kaitlyn, bewilderment on her face. She follows Kaitlyn, attempting to say something, leaving me sprawled on the floor.

“We found Emerson, but he bolted for some reason, and we lost him again,” Mr. McCullough says, locking the door. “We figured he was headed back this way. And we found Marlene’s—”

“Caulder?”

A quiet, ragged voice yanks my attention to the left, where Marlene stands fidgeting with the edge of her sweater. I stare at her, unable to believe what I’m seeing. Now it’s my turn to say what Avery said to me.

“Marlene? You’re alive?”

She nods, a shy smile taking over her face before she notices Mr. McCullough behind me, her eyes going wide.

“You,” she says, her voice surprisingly cold. “What’re you doing here?”

Mr. McCullough tilts his head. “What am I doing here? Marlene—”

“Where were you?” she demands. “Where have you been?”

Mr. McCullough’s brow furrows at Marlene’s questions. He turns and looks at the rest of us, as if one of us will answer for him. But no one does.

“I went to get something from the van,” he says. “Forgot something. No big deal.”

Marlene and Kaitlyn exchange a look that ends with Kaitlyn raising her eyebrows in a silent question before she turns back to Mr. McCullough.

“Right,” she says, her tone ringing with an easy confidence that sets off a warning bell in my head. “Did you go up the main road? We tried the shortcut from earlier, and there was a mudslide in our way.”