Page 34 of Night of the Living Manny
“Hello?” Steve answered, so Tad and Liam moved to the monitor to look at the simulation.
“Jesus Christ,” Tad whispered. “Boss….”
“Get your shit and go. Try to get past Denver or Salt Lake before you stop. Just in case.”
“Liam.” Aliya stared at him, her eyes huge.
“Do it.”
“Do it fast,” Steve said. “Greg lost the samples. There’s at least one infection.”
Shit. His blood ran cold. Liam started packing things into a cooler. “I have to go, Steve.”
“I know. We all do. I’ll put in one more call to the government agencies who need to know and I’m out too. I hope that serum you’re working on works.”
“How did you—”
“I’m not stupid.” Steve grinned. “Get it done before they find you or they’ll hold your kids against you.”
“I know.” He shook hands all around. “Good luck to all of you.”
“Stay safe, boss.” Tad and Aliya headed for the main doors.
“I’ll do my damn best,” he muttered. Now he had to round up his family and run.
BRENDENfrowned at the trash can. It was dumped over for the third day in a row. That was really weird, and damn it, he was getting tired of taking out Moose on a leash. It was light out, but he didn’t want to take a chance on Moose getting bitten and getting rabies, and a rabid animal wouldn’t care if it was day or night.
Maybe he needed to call animal control, at least see what might be out there.
“Britt, honey, can you get me Moose’s harness and leash?”
“Uh-huh. Someone scratched up the garage door. Daddy’s going to be mad.”
“Ick.” He would have to go look. “Did you see that coming home from Amy’s house?” Brittany’s friend Amy lived a few houses down, and Britt had gone to the bus stop with her. The girls had come back ten minutes later, and Amy’s mom had said school was cancelled. Something about too many teachers calling out…. Freaking weird.
“Uh-huh. Susanna hasn’t been outside ’cause she’s grounded.”
Right, and Peter was immersed in his game upstairs.
“Well, I’ll go look in a minute.” He took the harness from her, turning to Moose, who blew his lips. “I know, buddy, but you’re my best friend. Can’t take any chances.”
“Can I come with you?” Brittany asked.
“Sure, kiddo. Just keep an eye peeled for me. There’s been some animal knocking over the trash.”
“Ew.” She wrinkled her nose. So cute. “Like another dog or a raccoon?”
“Yep. Your dad is worried it might be sick.” So was he, but this was a fenced yard, damn it. He should be able to let his dog out, and a lot of other animals shouldn’t be able to get in.
“Oh, ew. If it’s a bat, don’t touch it.”
“Nope. I’ll get the shovel.” He opened the door to let out his leashed dog and his happy girl. Britt made him smile.
“Something smells stinky….” Brittany gagged audibly.
God, Britt was right. Something smelled like rotting meat. It felt thick in the back of his throat, coating things and making him want to retch.
He looked around, holding Moose back when the big dog started growling. “No. Moose. Down.”
