“Why do I need to?” She steps back, hands still raised. “I thought you were going to be the one to take the rifle away.”

“Because we have to plan for all eventualities. Maybe he won’t shoot me, but he could definitely use that gun like a club. So all of us need to know how to get it away from him.”

They all take turns getting the broomstick rifle away from each other. And then they add ganging up on the person playing attacker, as well as threatening them with Javier’s BB gun and tying them up with scarves. These parts they mostly mime, worried about accidentally hurting each other—especially Javier—or making too much noise.

“But when the time comes,” Cole says, “we’re gonna make lots of noise. We’re gonna overload his senses.”

5:50 p.m.

DISPATCH: Police, fire, or medical?

DANA TORRES: Um, police.

DISPATCH: What’s the nature of your emergency?

TORRES: I just passed mile-marker ninety-four, and something strange is going on. There’s a white tractor-trailer next to I-84. Its back doors are open and there’s orange cones out. And there were three guys in the middle of the road. They looked like they were tied up.

DISPATCH: Lying in the road? Are they injured?

TORRES: No. They’re standing up and moving around, but their arms look like they’re handcuffed or something behind their backs. I don’t think they’re hurt. They were yelling at me to stop, but I didn’t know what was going on, so I didn’t. I was afraid to. One of them tried to run after my car.

DISPATCH: How long ago was this?

TORRES: About two minutes. I waited until I was sure they couldn’t catch up to me before I called. I don’t know what was going on, and it didn’t seem like a good idea for a lady all by herself to stop out in the middle of nowhere.

Not Running Away

NOT RUNNING AWAY

5:53 P.M.

Miranda and the others have made it to the open alcove that leads to the hall one over from the hall where Parker had been hiding in a workroom. Next to them is a set of stairs going up, closed off with a swinging bar. The stairs lead to the offices upstairs, where the shooting started. Their eyes dart from the stairway to the hall and back again.

But they don’t hear anything. In the silence, Javier points at a security camera. What if one of the security guards is on the other side, watching the feed? Grace uses the broom handle to push the camera so it points into a corner. Then Cole tiptoes to where the alcove meets the hall and cautiously looks up and down. Finally, his shoulders relax. He turns back toward them.