Page 40 of Night of the Living Manny
Brenden stared at him a moment before nodding sharply. “You have your gun, right?”
“I do. Scoot over and drive through when I have it open.” He slipped out of the Hummer and told himself he was okay. The military would have Grand Mesa closed, Glenwood Canyon too. They’d contain it somehow, tell everyone it was the Middle East, chemical warfare, Ebola—something. They’d seal off Western Colorado and Utah from Denver to Salt Lake to try to contain this thing. He’d made sure to sound the alarm to the nearest base before he left his lab.
He checked his danger areas, then ran to the gate. He’d thought about automating it, but he would have had to go solar to keep it in power, and those modules took on damage easily. He heard a twig snap and he stiffened, his eyes feeling like they were burning in his head.
The glowing eyes of a raccoon crossed the headlights of the Hummer, and he chuckled. Right. Okay. It couldn’t spread that fast.
He was ramped up, that was all. He’d just had to shut down the lab and run for his life, dragging his innocent kids, manny, and a big dog with him.
Liam got the gate open so Brenden could roll through. When he closed it behind the Hummer, he set the open alarm, which was cellular, and the green battery light was on.
He climbed up into the passenger seat. “There’s one more gate, then we’re there.”
“Sure.” Brenden drove steadily, even though he had to be freaking out. Hell, Liam was freaking out, and he knew what was going on. Was that better or worse?
Shit, he didn’t know.
The truth was more awful than his imagination, for sure.
The next gate went faster, and they were through. He took over the driving again, knowing that blind corner at the top of the ridge was a hard one, and it would take Brenden by surprise.
“We’ll head into the garage before we get out, okay? And nobody touch the outside of the car. Just head through to the cabin.” Liam barked orders, hoping everyone would understand the urgency of his demands.
“Yes, Daddy. Brenden has to make sure Moosey doesn’t touch,” Brittany said in a small voice.
“I will, honey. He’s really good at taking directions.” Brenden smiled back at Britt before climbing out of the Hummer.
He’d clean the car and start unpacking once it was safe. He had to get the generator going and check the cistern.
Brenden grabbed Moose’s leash and kept it short. “Britt, you want to hold my hand?”
“Uh-huh.” She clung to Brenden.
Peter grabbed his bag. “You need help, Dad?”
“Nope. Get inside and show Brenden around.”
“Gotcha.” Peter led the way inside, Brenden following him with Britt.
ASsoon as they were alone, Susanna turned to him. “How bad?”
“Bad. Someone stole the research and got a bunch of people infected.”
“Oh.” Her eyes filled up with tears. “Are we going to warn people? Shelly? My choir group?”
“We hit the panic button before we left. They’ll take everyone to safety centers. We had to go first so I can get to work. The lab wasn’t safe.” And Diana’s notes were here. She’d been so sure she was on the right path to the antidote, but he’d been certain she was wrong. Now he was desperate to do something that was working better than what he’d been doing in the lab.
“We’re safe here?”
“As safe as anywhere. We will fix this, baby. I swear.”
“I trust you.” She carefully skirted the front bumper. “Do we need hazmat to wash the car?”
“Gloves and masks. It’s not easy to pass in air, but fluids, yeah. Go on inside, baby. Get your sister settled.” He could do this.
“Be careful, Dad. Moose is going to need to go out.” She had the shotgun in one hand. “I’ll stand guard for Brenden, then get the generator going.”
“Good girl.” He hated this, but he was brutally proud of her.
