Page 64 of Night of the Living Manny
That was only half an answer, but he would take it. They made it through both gates, and in the bright morning, he saw signs of wildlife but not humans—or what used to be humans. Thank God.
“Thank you. They’re… my kids.” He didn’t know how to explain it otherwise.
“Hey, I get it. That’s one of the most amazing things about you. How you love them.” They started the long coast down into Ouray, where they would pass right through and head to Montrose.
“Yeah. I…. It almost killed me, to lose Diana. I loved how fierce she was, and I never thought I’d fall in love again.”
“I’m sorry. She sounds wonderful. I bet Susanna is like her.” Brenden touched his hand again.
“God, yes. She totally is her mother’s daughter. Peter and Britt are much more like me. Poor babies.”
“They could do a lot worse. Their dad is pretty smart and funny.” They slid right through Ouray, which was utterly still. The virus made its victims shun light, so if there were any of the… infected left here, they would only be lurking in the shadows.
They didn’t live long. A few days at best. Hopefully they’d contained things quickly. Once the antidote was tested, that would help. God. Liam squeezed his eyes shut.God, please let it work.
The forty-five minute drive to Montrose seemed to take three times that long, just because he and Brenden were on high alert. They were both watching the road and its sides like hawks.
“This is maddening, isn’t it? God.” He just wanted to break the ice.
“Yeah. I’m all jumpy. I guess that’s normal, huh?”
“The new normal, I suppose. I mean, this is new for me too.”
“I know.” Brenden sighed. “This is why we have to do this, right? Did you bring your antidote, or did you leave it at the cabin?”
“I left it. There’s no reason to risk losing it now. It’s in the basement, locked in the minifridge.” Because his cobbled lab was just that… cobbled.
“Okay. Good.”
Brenden got it, he thought. It wasn’t like he could just shoot it at a target. He needed a blood sample. And if the government types got him, or the infected people did, well, Brenden would have what little he’d made, just in case.
“You’ll inject it into a vein. Can you do that?”
“I had a type-one diabetic kid I dealt with. I know that’s a fatty injection, but I can find a vein. I got it.” On that, Brenden sounded totally confident.
“Okay. I pray none of us have to use it, but we need to know how.”
“It’s better to be ready.” Brenden grinned wryly. “Okay. So where do we stop?”
“Let’s stay in the middle of town. The sun hurts the eyes of the infected.”
“Okay. A parking lot?”
Liam nodded. “Yes. Like a grocery or Walmart.” Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a military transport vehicle parked off the road, almost out of sight. That was both a good and bad sign. For containment it was good. For getting out of here after a call? Bad.
He had to believe that this would work—for them, for the infected people. For his kids, who had lost everything they knew, and for Diana. She’d been fiercely devoted to this project, to keeping this dangerous virus from seeing the light of day.
“Easy, Liam. Breathe. We got this.”
“Yeah.” He hoped so.
“We do.” Brenden pulled into the Walmart lot, then coasted to a stop. They both peered out, but there was no one in sight.
“Okay, I’m going to make my call. You keep an eye out.”
“I’m on it.” Brenden probably was too. He knew how to use the car as a weapon now.
“Let’s do this, then.” He turned on his phone, dialing his handler and praying.
