i rocketed up the remaining steps , slammed through the door , and charged down the hall toward the room that was now missing a door , the room where my baby brother was , and my toe caught on something-a soft something i did n't see in my mad dash for sam-and i went airborne , landing with a jaw-popping force on the thin carpeting , jumped up , glanced back , and saw ben parish lying lifelessly there , arms outstretched , dark wet blotch of blood seeping through that ridiculous yellow hoodie , and then sam screamed and i 'm not too late , not too late , and here i come , you sonofabitch , here i come , and in the room a tall shadow loomed over the tiny figure whose tiny finger yanked impotently at the trigger of the empty gun .