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The sound of confused voices rises.

I’m afraid to open my eyes. Even with them closed, the brightness lingers.

“Stay with me, kitten.” Eli’s words sound far off, even though he has me in his arms.

He doesn’t need to worry. I’m not going anywhere.

When I open my eyes, everything is hazy and dim like I’ve stared at the sun too long. There’s a sizzling sound, followed by the clinking of something bouncing on the floor, and then I smell smoke. Fuck.

I huddle against Eli.

“Fire!” someone yells. Panic spreads like a wave through the crowd of students. The floor almost shakes as everyone runs to the nearest exits.

But we don’t. Their shapes move away from me since Eli and I haven’t moved yet. When another couple of pops go off, Eli brings us down to the ground.

Terror fills my heart. Everything inside me stills. My knees ache from the sudden drop.

A gun? What else could that sound be? What if one of the others gets hurt? What if Eli is hurt?

“Are you okay? Where are the others?” I whimper, clinging to Eli’s shirt. The smoke is growing thicker, filling my lungs. There’s a fire, and someone is attacking us. We need to get out.

“I’m good. They’re close.” Eli covers me with his body. Protecting me. But who’s protecting him? Before I can tell Eli we need to run, the fire alarm roars to life. Water rains down over us in a torrent.

Girls’ screams fill the gymnasium in chorus with guys cursing. Eli pulls me up with him. In a matter of seconds, the cold water soaks me through.

“We need to get out of here,” he says. I can barely make him out in the water pouring over us.

My dress clings to me as I hold tight to Eli’s hand. When I nod, he starts toward the doors. The floor is slippery beneath my high heels, but I refuse to fall.

The lights go out, but the water doesn’t stop. More shrieks fill the air. Eli pulls me to a stop against him. I hold my breath, waiting for what will happen next. My pulse throbs.

Someone opens a door off to the side, letting in light from the parking lot. Not enough to lessen the darkness, but it gives us a way out. I squint toward it and see a guy on crutches, holding the door. That has to be Nico.

“Eli.” I tug his hand, and he turns with me, wrapping his arm around my waist, keeping me close. We hurry toward the door behind the panicked students.

The doors shut abruptly, leaving us in darkness. The flow of people stops. I cough at the smoke still lingering in the air and shiver against the cold water coating me. But even without the smoke, the water continues to fall.

A laugh like a hyena bursts into the air. I gasp, holding back the scream that wants to join the other girls’. Three other laughs join his, sending shivers down my spine. I can’t see anything in the darkness, but I can feel Eli’s hands and his arm wrapped around me. I clutch his shirt, refusing to let go. My heart pounds almost as loud as the water falling from the sprinklers.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are.” The voice makes my blood run cold. It’s modulated with something, so I don’t recognize the guy it belongs to. But I know they’re here for me.

“Fuck off, assholes,” some male voice yells. A grunt is followed by the sound of someone falling to the ground. I bite my lip to keep from making any more noise.

“No one likes a hero,” another voice says with a laugh. “Got that, assholes?”

I can barely make out the sound of girls and guys whimpering over the water still pouring from the sprinkler system. The smoke dissipates with the water at least, making it easier to breathe.

Eli draws me deeper into the crowd, away from the voices. He’s quiet, and I follow his example, knowing they’re probably looking for me. I wish that was just normal paranoia, but we knew they were coming for me tonight. How do I fight someone I can’t see?

As long as I’m with Eli, I won’t have to fight alone.

The toe of my shoe catches on a large object on the ground, and I almost fall over it. I’m off balance for a second and hold back a scream. Eli steadies me against him. Whatever is on the ground was too soft to be a speaker. My insides tremble. Is it a body? How many people are already dead because of them?

Eli leads me in the opposite direction. I don’t know how he sees in the darkness, but I feel other people brushing against us as we move through the crowd. The confusion and the fear are palpable around us. Does he know where he’s going? My sense of direction is scattered in the darkness.

He stops us in the crowd of people and pulls me into his arms, holding me against him. I press my face into his wet shirt and huddle against his warmth.

The water slows to a drizzle, and the sound of shoes squeaking on the wet floor and breathing dominates the space. No one says anything, no one moves.