I stared down at Valarie's body in horror, hoping that this was some sick joke, that this wasn't actually happening, but knowing that it wasn't. Valarie was dead. Dan had shot her. Valarie was dead. She was dead. She was dead.
"No," I whispered, chest tightening. No, no, no, no, no.
"Serenity," Coden called hoarsely, sounding like he'd had the wind knocked out of him. I didn't turn as he approached, but his voice brought me back to reality. As sick as it was, I didn't have time to stand here and process the fact that Valarie was now a lifeless corpse on the floor. Rosalie was still in danger.
My eyes snapped upward, over to where Rosalie was backing away from Dan with trembling legs. We had to find a way to save her, and fast. It was just a matter of how—
Coden reached me and pressed the knife handle-up into my hand. He gave me a meaningful look before turning his attention forward and jogging toward Dan. I followed his lead, forcing myself not to look at Valarie as I rushed for Dan as quickly and quietly as I could. If I concentrated on Valarie, I would lose it. And I couldn't afford to lose it. Not with Dan trying to kill Rosalie.
We reached Dan in no time, though it felt like hours. He didn't even notice our approach; he was too wrapped up in what he was doing. It was now or never. Coden and I shared a quick glance before lifting our weapons.
And then we stabbed.
Dan bellowed as our weapons dug into his skin. I pushed past my disgust, dug as deeply into his shoulder as I could, and twisted. Dan's bellow morphed into a roar, and for a moment I had the urge to slap my hands to my ears. But I didn't. I pulled the knife from his shoulder and took a stumbling step back, twisting around and grabbing for Rosalie. As our fingers intertwined, Coden removed the scissors from Dan's other shoulder. His eyes met mine in one fumbling moment, and then we were running again.
We sprinted down the hall, breaths heaving, lungs burning, feet crying. My head pounded so badly I wanted to puke again. But I ignored it all, my only thought on putting as much distance between us and Dan as possible. To get somewhere safer. Please don't let this be the end, I begged to no one in particular. Please, please, please.
We reached the stairs and raced up them. I couldn't hear Dan following us, but I didn't chance a glance back to see. I concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, one-two, one-two, one-two, one-two.
It was when we reached the landing I realized Dan wasn't following us—or, if he was, he'd fallen behind. There was no sound of pounding footsteps on the stairs. I would have let out a shaky breath of relief if I wouldn't break into a coughing fit because of it.
Coden lead us into a room at random. There were a few good hiding places, and I pushed Rosalie toward the closest one, whispering for her to conceal herself now. I was about to do the same, but then Coden crossed the room to the window, and the thought shriveled into nothing.
"I don't think it will—"
Coden attempted to open the window, and when it was jammed just like all the other windows we'd encountered, he cursed and lifted his blood-drenched scissors, striking the window with such force it shook. My eyes widened. A crack. There was a crack in the glass. Oh god, was there hope? Could we actually—?
Someone grabbed me from behind and jerked me backwards. I let out an involuntary shriek, twisting, turning, wriggling, writhing, struggling to free myself from this person's grip. Let me go, I wanted to scream. Let me go now! Then something cold pressed against my temple, and I froze. Dan.
