Kitty walked around the side and here was the door. It had a window in it, and she peered through to see Luke slouched behind the seat of the Caliber, his eyes closed. She tried the door. Locked, of course. Without hesitation, Kitty thrust the nose of her skateboard into the lowest part of the glass. Her first attempt put three deep cracks into the window but didn’t break it. Her second—a harder strike—did the trick. Kitty jumped back as the glass gave way. A large shard dropped like a guillotine blade, hit the ground, and shattered.

The stink of carbon monoxide and other chemicals wafted out, and Kitty spluttered, reaching through the broken window to unlock the door. She pulled it open. Another hazy cloud of poison pushed past her. Kitty dropped her skateboard, covered her mouth and nose with her forearm, and ventured inside. She noticed the garage door opener on the wall and punched it with the side of her fist. The door rattled up on its tracks, an ugly but immensely satisfying sound.

Two long steps, and she was at the driver’s door. Luke’s head rolled loosely. His eyes fluttered. Still alive. Kitty yanked the door open, wondering if he would put up a fight. He certainly wouldn’t thank her. It was his decision to die, and she—a stranger—was taking that away from him, at least for now. But what else was she supposed to do? Luke had involved her from the moment he woke her up. Stupid jerk should have stuck his head in the oven . . . quietly.

Kitty grabbed his upper arm and pulled. He flopped out a little way, but that was all. She adjusted her grip, pulled harder, and met the same resistance. Kitty then noticed the seat belt latched across Luke’s chest. A goddamn seat belt.

“What kind of idiot—”

Okay, buckling up was likely an automatic action. Muscle memory. But Kitty wondered if it was a subconscious thing. Perhaps, deep down, he didn’t want to die. Maybe, after the smoke had (literally) cleared, he would thank her, after all.

His head rolled to the other side. He muttered something, then exhaled wheezily as Kitty leaned across him. She saw the keys hanging from the ignition and gave them a counterclockwise twist, shutting off the engine. She had Luke’s seat belt unclipped a second later. He slumped forward, allowing her to grab him beneath his armpits and pull.