Blood dripped from Darci’s elbow leaving bright, red polka dots across the bathroom floor. A trail of crimson dots that would lead right to us.
I turned the flimsy lock on the bathroom door and then hobbled over to the chair sitting in the corner, next to the tub. Dragging it to the door, I shoved it beneath the doorknob. One good kick from the other side would no doubt bust the door open and send the chair airborne, but at least it might slow the intruders down long enough for us to escape out the bathroom window.
I looked down at the cast on my leg. Who was I kidding? I wasn’t going anywhere. Noticing Darci’s purse still hooked over her shoulder, I pointed at the bag.
“Your cell phone,” I said in a hushed voice.
With a look of excitement, she tore it open and pulled out the phone. Her face fell. “The battery’s dead.”
“Can you climb out the window?”
She looked at the gash on her arm caused by a flying shard of glass hitting her when the mirror shattered. “Yeah, I think so. The bleeding’s stopped,” she whispered while dabbing the cut with a wash cloth. “But you can’t get out the window with your broken foot.” Her voice rose in desperation. “I can’t leave you here.”
Limping over to where Darci stood, I gripped her other arm. “You have to,” I said in a hushed tone. “Climb out the window, onto the porch roof. From there, it’s an easy drop to the ground.”
In the faint light, I saw Darci’s eyes narrow with stubbornness.
“I’m not going without you. We don’t even know how many people are in the house.”
“I think two. We heard one come through the back porch, and one came in the kitchen window.”
A loud crash from the living room below made us both jump.
I gave her a small shove toward the window. “We don’t have time to argue. Get out that window and go for help.”
With a sigh of resignation, she hurried to the window and slowly slid it open. Flipping the strap of her purse over her head and across her chest, she threw a leg over the sill. With one last look, she disappeared into the night.
I was alone—alone in the house with two killers.