Chapter Seven
Slipping Out of Reach
Erin and Kevin were piled into the back of the ambulance with Wendy. Tears streamed down their faces during the ride to the hospital.
"She has to survive! She just has to!" Kevin wailed during the ride.
The rest was a blur for Erin. They arrived at the hospital, and Erin and Kevin were forced to stay in the waiting room. They were told Wendy was being taken care of. They both continued to sob and cry, not just for Wendy but for everything that had happened and for everyone who had died in Death's cruel game.
It seemed like hours passed, but only about two had when they were told that Wendy had not made it. The sobs came harder and faster after that. There were only two of them left, and they had made it so far. But Wendy's life had slipped out of reach, and Death had gotten her after all.
Erin and Kevin both fell asleep curled up in balls in the waiting room that night. Erin awoke in the middle of the night, her neck muscles aching. She began to wonder if it really was over, if Wendy had been right. She had killed herself, and she had been last in line. Did that mean that Erin and Kevin were safe? She fell back asleep pondering all of this.
The next morning Erin and Kevin went to Kevin's house together, silent and somber. Before they did they visited the ruins of Wendy's burnt down home. They looked around the site where so much had happened since the Tricentennial. They saw the tree where Julie had been impaled, and lay down in the grass in the spot where Wendy had shot herself. The gun was still lying there in the grass.
Erin sighed. "Do you think we won?" she whispered hoarsely. Kevin nodded his head. They had won. They had beat Death. They were survivors.