“Then stop being funny.”
“I’m not trying.”
For a few minutes, the room felt normal again.
Almost.
Then I remembered something.
Something Captain Reyes had said.
You don’t know yet?
I looked at Tyler.
“There’s something else.”
His smile faded.
“What?”
“Captain Reyes.”
Tyler looked away.
“He said something strange when I arrived.”
“What did he say?”
“He asked me if I didn’t know yet.”
Tyler didn’t answer.
“Tyler.”
He stared at the ceiling.
“What?”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
He took a breath.
“The warehouse wasn’t empty.”
“I know.”
“No.”
He turned toward me.
“You don’t understand.”
My heart began beating faster.
“What happened?”
“There was a little girl inside.”
I froze.
“How old?”
“Maybe seven.”
“Seven?”
He nodded.
“She’d been hiding upstairs.”
I covered my mouth.
“How did you know?”
“I heard her.”
Tyler’s voice became quieter.
“The building was already coming apart. We were ordered out.”
“Then why…”
“I heard her screaming.”
I stared at him.
“Tyler.”
“Reyes told everyone to get out.”
“Did you go back?”
He didn’t answer.
I already knew.
“You went back.”
He nodded.
My eyes filled with tears.
“Why?”
“Because she was still in there.”
“You could have died.”
“I know.”
“No, Tyler. You could have died.”
