I was going to throw up.
That was all I could bring myself to think as Coden grabbed me by the arm and pulled me up from the floor. My gaze was completely blank as it remained locked on the body before me. Rosalie was frozen in her spot beside the dead girl, her eyes as wide as mine. Coden cursed under his breath and hefted Rosalie from the floor as well, his grip visibly tight on her arm as he gave her a slight shake. “Rose,” he said softly, his tone kept kind and soothing. “Rose, please snap out of it. We have to get out of here.”
Rosalie blinked, tears forming in her eyes. “There’s blood,” she whispered. “Blood everywhere.”
I gagged, a hand slapping to my mouth. Rosalie was right; the girl was barely recognizable, her blond hair matted, practically painted with her blood. Whoever killed her had used a knife, and they’d taken their time. Whether it was Samantha or Al, I wasn’t sure—and I didn’t care. The fact that an adult could mutilate a child like this….
Now I was really going to throw up.
“Serenity,” Coden murmured, hurrying over to me. He tugged Rosalie with him, and she almost tripped and fell again. Coden didn’t apologize, however. Instead he placed his free hand on my shoulder. “Come on,” he said. “We have to go or we’ll end up like her.”
I didn’t trust myself to look at him. I could only swallow down bile and bring a hand up to my forehead. “They cut her apart,” I said. “Coden, how could—how could they—?”
Suddenly Coden was in front of me, blocking my view of the deceased girl. But it didn’t stop me from picturing the girl in my head. The blood, the deep cuts, the mutilation… “I know it’s hard,” said Coden, his hands going to my cheeks. In any other situation, I would be shivering with delight, but now all I could do was meet Coden’s gaze with tears in my eyes. “I know it’s scary. But we have to move, Serenity. Or else you, Rose, and I are going to die, too. And I’m not about to let that happen.”
I nodded, taking a step back and grabbing ahold of Rosalie’s hand. Rosalie went back to clinging against me as Coden led us down the hall. I didn’t mind. For now, Rosalie was okay. She was okay. We were okay. As long as we stuck together, as long as we hid ourselves, we would remain okay.
We would not end up like that girl on the floor.
“Let’s try in here,” Coden said suddenly, turning and hurrying into a room near the end of the hall. Rosalie and I were not far behind, stepping as quietly as we could through the threshold and into the room. My eyes scraped the surroundings as we moved forward. There was much more furniture in this room than the one I'd found earlier. Two couches, what looked like a closet filled with random crap that I couldn’t identify, a mirror, and a bed thrown over on its side.
I let go of Rosalie’s hand as we came to stand in front of the mirror. My eyes widened at the sight of my reflection. There were no words for how awful I looked right now. My already pale skin was so pale that I put Snow White to shame. My brunette curls were all over the place, no longer falling over my shoulders, but collapsing like a mop over my head. Dirt specked my face like freckles. It brought out the blue in my eyes, but not in a good way.
Rosalie grabbed onto my arm again. I looked down at her and struggled to smile. My struggle was a failure, and Rosalie’s reply was a tear falling down her cheek. I wanted to cry, too. I wanted to cry so badly. But, for now, I had to concentrate on finding the little girl a hiding spot.
I made my way over to the closet, my eyes flicking around as I scurried to find a spot for Rosalie to hide in. Clothes hung from hangers, and little odds and ends sat on the shelves. The floor was littered with shoes. I figured I was wrong in my assumption that this was an abandoned warehouse. This seemed to be an abandoned house, despite the strange setup. Did that mean someone still lived here? Or did Samantha and the others kill them, too?
