I held Lauren tight against my chest, waiting for the window to shatter.

But instead, a loud crash echoed from the other side of the garage, followed by the sound of breaking glass.

The headlights of a second car swung down the ramp, blinding us once more.

The door of the stairwell flew open, and a figure rushed out into the glare.

It was Dr. Rao, her green scrubs stained with blood, her face pale with terror.

“Evelyn!” she screamed, her voice cracking in the cold air.

“You need to get up to the room now!”

“What is it?” I shouted back, trying to open my door, but it was jammed against the concrete pillar.

“It’s Mary,” Dr. Rao cried out.

“She’s gone.”

The words hung in the freezing air, heavier than the snow that lay on the streets above.

The shadow in the stairwell disappeared back into the darkness as the doctors and nurses began to run down the ramp.

The lights in the garage suddenly flared back on, the yellow glare revealing the empty concrete space.

But the silence that followed was louder than any siren.