I stepped away. Taking Alex’s hockey stick, I shoved it into her gear bag and slung the straps over my shoulders so the end stuck up like a sword handle, just how she used to wear it. The gym remained dead silent, all focus turned to me. I did my best to ignore it. Wearing the Stetson low over my eyes helped block everyone and everything out. I heard nothing but the steady rush of my breath. In, out. In, out. To keep the fear from catching me, I just had to breathe and force my body to do whatever was next.

As I headed across the court to the supply station, Eve rose from her cot and walked at my side. When we got there, she went around the little desk, sat, and looked up with a mock-official expression.

“So,” she said, “what can I help you with?”

She was trying for a light tone, but I could see how worried she was. I loaded up with water bottles, stale sandwiches, energy bars, and batteries for the flashlight, preserving the perishables in Ziplocs in case it rained. I also encased my notebook in a plastic bag to protect it. Darkness was gathering at the windows. A few minutes more and it would be night.

“You want your brother’s shotgun?” she asked.

“Too big for me,” I said.

“Just these, then?” she said, sliding my baling hooks across the desk.

I slipped the loops onto my wrists, then leaned over and pointed to one of the shelves. “And that.”

Sheriff Blanton’s revolver. The one I’d taken from his bedroom back on that endless first night.

“What good is it without bullets?” she asked as she reached for it.

“I know where to find bullets,” I said.

She handed it to me, and I clipped the holster to my belt. Then I nodded at her and touched the brim of the cowboy hat, a mock formality to match hers from earlier. She managed a smile.

“Thank you for everything, Eve,” I said.

She couldn’t help but beam a little.

“You’re a good friend,” I said, and her smile faded a few watts. I realized too late how my words had cut her. I hadn’t meant to hurt her feelings, but I also didn’t have it in me to figure out how to fix it right now. I was concerned about a thousand things, and feelings weren’t one of them.

I took the gun and turned to leave.

That first time we’d left the safety of the school to head for Stark Peak, there’d been the three of us like always. Me, Patrick, Alex.

The second time, sneaking into the hospital, me and Patrick.

Now it was just me.

As if he sensed my thoughts, Cassius trotted over to join me.