“Yeah.” Joel left the sled, got Brady’s body secure in the rope, and waited while Jayce hauled him up.
“Oh man.” Jayce’s voice echoed through the air.
Joel grimaced. It wasn’t pretty, but there was no way they were leaving their friend dead at the bottom of the drop-off.
The rope swung back down. Tying it around his waist, Joel climbed up as Jayce pulled.
Reaching the top edge, Jayce yanked him over onto the snow-and-ice-covered ground.
Joel lay on the snow pile he’d flopped on, the cold permeating his snowsuit. Huge flakes fell on his face.
“You okay?” Jayce asked, standing over him.
“Yeah.” He got to his feet. “I just can’t believe it.”
“Me either.” Jayce shook his head. “What are we doing with his body until we’re rescued? We can’t carry him past everyone.”
“I know. We’ll go in the side door and put him in the first room.”
“What do we tell everyone?”
“That he had an accident.”
Jayce frowned. “Why’d you say it like he didn’t?”
“Take a look at his neck.”
Jayce moved for Brady’s body and rolled him fully onto his back, then stumbled backward.
“His throat’s been slit.”
I shifted. The boards in the passageways I discovered creaked far too often, but the liberties the walkways behind the walls afforded was marvelous. I could get anywhere, be anywhere. Soon I was in Cassie’s room—standing by her bed, letter in hand. Her face—so angelic—free from the horror about to overtake it.
I stood watch as I always did. Her chest rose and fell in that deep rhythm—up and down, up and down. I set the second letter on the bed, fighting the urge to brush hair from her face. She possessed a fire that fastened me to her.
Soon that sweet face would be stricken with terror. There was no need for it. If she’d just accept the inevitable. Webelongedtogether. She just needed to accept it.
I curled and uncurled my fists. Why did she have to be so stubborn? Why couldn’t she just accept it, acceptme? Heat spread through me, burning my limbs as my muscles coiled. Because ofhim. It was all his fault.
It was so clear.We can’t move forward until Joel is outof the equation. I inhaled and streamed it out. I’d tried so hard to avoid this, to not kill again, but they’d left me no choice. It was on them. If only she’d listened. One way or another, she would come to.
“Good night, my sweet,” I whispered.
Checking the hall, I slipped out, ready to head back to the passage entrance.
The door next to me creaked open. “What are you doing?”
Nat.
“I saw you.”
“Saw me what?”
“Sneak into Cassie’s room.”
“Are you sure you’re really awake?”
“What?”
