Page 16 of Beyond Redemption

“Put it on speaker,” Thomas said, switching off the siren.

I hit accept. “Livvy? Livvy, can you hear me?”

Sniffling. A breath. Then, finally, a whisper. “Liis?”

Relief punched through me so sharply I had to brace my hand against the dashboard. “I’m here,” I said, keeping my voice low and steady. “Thomas is here. We’re on our way. Where are you, honey?”

“I’m… I’m in the lower level. The… the basement lounge. We—” Her voice broke.

“It’s okay,” I said quickly before fear could overtake her. “You’re doing exactly what you’re supposed to. Listen to me carefully, okay?”

“O-okay…”

“Do not talk above a whisper, Livvy, even if you’re scared. Stay as quiet as you can. Silence is a shield. What building are you in?”

“The uh… the humanities building.”

“Is there a door you can lock? How many exits?”

“Um…” She paused briefly. “Two exits. It’s like a rec room. Lots of tables, a ping pong table…”

“Lock it if you can. Barricade the door. Put anything you can find in front of it—tables, chairs, shelves—anything heavy. Do it as quietly as you can.”

“O-okay.”

“If there are lights, turn them off. If your phone isn’t on silent, do it now.”

I heard the tiny click as she switched it.

“You’re doing great, Livvy,” I said softly. “Are you alone?”

“No. Um, eight others. They’re hiding, too. We ran to this, like, large closet in the back corner of the lounge.”

“Tell them to silence their phones. Do not disturb mode, no vibration.” I waited while she furiously whispered all of my instructions to the others and then heard muffled movement. “Livvy, are the windows exposed?”

“They’re high up—like, ground-level high.”

“That’s good,” I said, forcing calm into every syllable. “Stay low. Stay away from sightlines. If the shooter is outside, you do not want movement near the windows.”

Thomas glanced over at me, his knuckles white again.

“Livvy,” I gently continued, “We’re close. We’re coming to you.”

She sniffed again, but her breathing steadied a bit.

My phone buzzed in my hand again, this time a call from Bodhi.

“Thomas,” I whispered. “It’s Bodhi. His sister’s there too.” I took his phone, found Bodhi’s contact information, and pressed the number, listening for the ring before handing it back.

Another call lit up my screen.Shit.

MARISOL

“Livvy,” I said, “I’m going to keep you on the phone with me, but I need to put you on hold for a moment. It’s going to get quiet, but donothang up. If we get disconnected, call back. Do you understand?”

“Please hurry,” she whispered.

“Bodhi?” Thomas said. “Yeah… yeah, we’re on the phone with her now. Yes, we’re on our way. I’ll call you back.”