Graham didn’t say anything after that, and Ash couldn’t wait around. He had no idea how many shooters were in the school. All he knew was that Trevor wasn’t alone. He had no guarantee that the next one who found them would spare them. He hustled back to Kincaid and lifted her off the floor, cradling her against him. With one more look at Graham, Ash checked to make sure the hallway was empty and then ran for their lives.

On the way, he tried not to look at the blood on the floor, tried to block out the screams. Kincaid moaned in his arms, coming to, as he pushed through a doorway and into the side parking lot where they stored the buses.

“What’s going on?” she mumbled, confused.

“Shh,” he said, glancing over his shoulder, making sure no one was behind them as he weaved around a bus. “Quiet, KC.”

“Ash?” she repeated. “My head…”

His arms were quivering, his legs burning, and his lungs screaming from the hard run and the kick to the ribs. He was going to drop her if he didn’t put her down soon. He needed to find a place for them to hide. Police sirens wailed in the distance. Too far.

Ash got to the far side of the parking lot and hurried behind a fenced-off dumpster. He lowered Kincaid to the ground as gently as he could, propping her up against the fence. His entire body was shaking so hard he could barely control his movements. He knelt next to her, pushing her hair away from her face. “KC, listen to me. We need to be quiet.”

“Why?” Her eyes squinted as she tried to focus on him. She reached up and touched his cheek, which he knew had to be wet with more than tears. Fear entered her expression when she realized it was blood. “Oh God. You’re bleeding. What’s happening?”

His heart broke open. He didn’t want to tell her. He didn’t want this to be real. Please don’t let this be real. But there was no waking up. He swallowed past the fear trapped in his throat. “Someone brought guns to prom. They opened fire. You were knocked out.”

Awareness widened her eyes, and she sat up straighter, reaching out to grab his arm as though she was dizzy. “Where’s Graham?”

Ash closed his eyes.

“Ash,” she said, an urgent whisper. “Where is he?”

Tears dripped off his chin. “He was shot, KC. Trevor Lockwood shot him. As soon as the cops get here, I’ll tell them where to find him so they can help him.”

She stared at him as if she hadn’t heard the words right. “Graham’s alive?”

Ash couldn’t breathe. “He was…struggling.”

She tried to scramble to her feet, her balance off. “We need to go back in. We need to get him out!”

Ash jumped up and grabbed her arm. “KC, we can’t. The shooters are still in there. You can’t go back in.”