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Kevin went straight to Caroline who was wheezing in what sounded to him like an awful, terrible, final breath.

"H...annah," she managed. "It was... Hannah. I... hurt her."

And with that, the life seemed to drain from her.

Kevin opened his mouth, wanting to scream but finding even that impossible to get out. Standing, he backed away from Caroline, sickened by the sight of this sweet woman now stabbed to death in the one place where's she'd always been the most alive.

"Kevin."

The voice was Michelle's. He turned to see his sister kneeling next to Abby, examining her head. He felt a quick surge of hope. Caroline might be gone, but maybe Abby...

"She's breathing," Michelle said.

A crack of relief snapped at Kevin's mind, only to be tempered when he saw the gash on her head.

"Oh God," he said, kneeling down and taking Abby by the hand. "How is she?"

"I don't know. It looks pretty bad. Could be a concussion or something worse."

Abby began to stir and moan a little.

"Abby? Abby can you hear me?" Kevin asked.

The only answer was more of the same.

Letting go of her hand, he stood up and checked his cell phone for a signal. Still nothing.

"Damn it!" Then to Michelle he said, "Come on. We're getting out of here."

Michelle ceased her examination of Abby and looked up. "How? We don't have a car."

"I don't care. We can walk out."

"We're in the middle of nowhere. What about the storm?"

"I'd rather take our chances with the storm then stay in this freakshow one more minute. We'll take our phones, try to get a signal. Flag someone down. Something."

"What about Abby?"

"I'll carry her."

"You can't carry a grown woman out of here. It could be miles before we find any help."

Kevin knew that she was right. But the thought of staying here filled him with a level of dread that he couldn't put into words. Before she died, Caroline said that she'd hurt Hannah. What did that mean? Was it bad enough to incapacitate her? In his mind, he pictured Hannah hiding somewhere in the shadows, waiting for her chance to lash out like a wounded animal with sharp claws. And what about Burns? Where was he? What was his part in all this? Could he be an accomplice, stalking the halls ready to attack with a crowbar? A baseball bat? An axe. No. Screw this. We're getting out of here.

But what about Abby.

Then it hit him.

"The wheelchair."

"What?" Michelle said.

"Teague had one of those fancy electric wheelchairs in his room," Kevin said. "But there's also a regular one in the dining room. I saw it there sitting the corner during dinner last night. It must be a spare incase the electric one breaks down."

This seemed to get Michelle's attention.

"That could work," she said. "I saw a coat closet in the foyer of the main entrance. There's bound to be rain slickers, umbrellas, something."

"Yes!" Kevin said. "Come on. Let's move. 

 

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