Page 23 of Five Survive

Red faced down the darkness, breath trapped in her throat. Why wasn’t she moving? Just move. And then the voice wasn’t hers anymore, it was her mom’s. There’d been a shooting in the city, downtown. And Mom wanted her to know something.You have to run, Red. If there’s ever an active shooter. Run, don’t hide. It’s harder to hit you when you’re moving, so run! Run now, sweetie. Run!

Run, Red. She should run. She needed to run, out into the wide-open nothing.

“RED! Get inside the RV now!”

But Oliver’s voice was louder than her mom’s, and Red listened tohim.

She chose.

Her shoes pushed off against the dirt and she flew. To the steps and up, taking Oliver’s outstretched hand as he dragged her inside.

The door slammed shut behind her.

“Everyone get down!”

Red dropped to her knees, her chest tightening around her hummingbird heart. She couldn’t breathe, she felt like she couldn’t breathe.

“Maddy, get away from that window,” Oliver said, the panic cutting up his voice. “Come here.”

Simon was huddled in front of the refrigerator, Reyna by the kitchen counter. Maddy crawling up beside Oliver under the dining table. And Arthur was crouched here, next to her.

“I tried to get you,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

“What did you see, Red?” Reyna asked her, her dark brown eyes too wide, shoulders hitching as she spoke. “You saw them?”

Red shook her head, gulping to force the air through. “No. No, I didn’t see anybody. I saw a dot,” she said. “A red dot, on the side of the RV. Before we heard the shot. Someone shot at the RV.”

“A red dot?” Simon stared at her. “Like a laser sight?”

“I think so.”

Simon screwed up his face. “This can’t be real,” he said, tilting his head. “No, this really can’t be real. Are you sure it was really a gun?Couldn’t someone just have a laser pointer, and made the sound to scare us?”

“What are you talking about?” Arthur asked him.

“I’m saying, let’s not panic.” Simon’s words slurred as he forced them out. “Maybe it’s not what it seems. This could just be a prank. The guys from school knew we were stopping over near here. Maybe they followed us. Trying to scare us.”

“Why would they do that?” Maddy’s voice shook.

“I don’t know. Rob and Taylor are always pulling shit like this. Fucking sadists. And they don’t like me. You know they—”

“It’s real, Simon,” Red said, cutting him off. “I saw the bullet hole in the side of the RV. I was right next to it.”

His face rearranged, cold fear taking over his eyes. It made it all worse somehow, watching the sudden change in Simon.

“Oh my god,” Maddy said, trying not to cry. Red knew that face well. “He shot at you, Red?”

Not really, but it had been close enough. A couple of feet. The red dot must have touched her on its way. She didn’t like that.

“Calm down.” Oliver squeezed Maddy’s hand. “Someone shot at us, but I’m sure this is all some kind of misunderstanding, okay?”

Simon scoffed. “Sure, just a misunderstanding. There’s a sniper out there with a high-powered rifle and a laser sight who’s decided to use us as target practice. But yeah, just a misunderstanding.”

He’d changed his tune.

“Maybe it was a warning shot,” Oliver said.

“Six,” Arthur corrected him. “Six shots. He shot out all the tires.”

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