After checking both the boys' pockets for phones and coming up empty, I try my best to convey to a very out-of-it Daria that I was going for help. I immediately tore the soiled socks from my feet which were completely drenched in viscous blood, leaving a cocoon of it on my feet and bloody footprints on the pristine white floor.
Remembering that there is a slide lock on the outside of the doorway, I'm immediately grateful when I'm able to easily dislodge the door after a simple twist of the knob. Relief showers over me like a sobering rain the moment my body kicks into gear and I immediately take off running in the direction of the car and the house. I try not to get too confident knowing full well that everything can devolve into chaos at any moment.
