Candy turned and gave a dirty go-to-hell glare at the door then turned back to Vicky. She dropped her voice to a whisper. “See if the guys can find a county dump truck and jump start it. See if they can haul some sand or something down the road and…bury it or something.”
“On it.” Vicky turned and disappeared down the hallway.
Candy spun and reached for the door. Her hand hovered just above the knob and she contemplated the man sitting on the other side.
He did turn over his weapon.
He didn’t hurt Hank or Wally.
She glanced at the notepad in her hand and skimmed through what he had written.
She squared her shoulders and opened the door. “Tell me more about Simon.”
Chapter 18
Hatcher stared at the hot spring with Buck while Hollis directed his men in setting up the perimeter. Captain Hollis slithered into the white body suit and double checked his filtrations system before donning the head piece.
“Is all of that necessary?” Hatcher asked.
Hollis nodded, but you couldn’t tell outside of the helmet. “Trust me. I’d triple this up to make sure I don’t get exposed to that crap.”
“It certainly smells like crap.” Buck muttered. He glanced at the remains of the hot spring then looked to Hatcher. “I remember that smell the night Keri got sick. But the spring water didn’t look like that.”
“What did it look like?”
“It was black. Like tar.” Buck held his hand over his mouth and stepped farther back as Hollis approached the edge of the spring. He extended a metal pole with a beaker on the end and held it out over the spring.
“It was dark.” Hatcher said, his voice nearly a whisper as he watched the Army captain try to retrieve a sample. “Maybe it looked black because it was night.”
Buck studied the blood-red thick goop that surrounded the spring. “Keri was covered in the stuff when we pulled her from it.” He turned to Hatcher and shook his head. “That looks different.”
“We’ll just hope it’s what they need.” Hatcher wrapped a reassuring arm around Buck’s shoulders and gently pulled him farther from the spring.
Hollis inserted the beaker into the spring then pushed it deeper under the surface. “There’s a chance the red color is a result of being exposed to the air or sunlight.” He seemed to struggle with raising the beaker back up and when it broke the surface there was an audible sllurrrp noise.
He pulled the beaker back and placed it on the ground. He disconnected it from the extension and held it up to the light. The liquid within the beaker was a much darker color. “Is this the stuff, kid?”
Buck leaned slightly toward the beaker and nodded. “Yeah. That looks more like it.”
“Contact, captain!” one of the men yelled.
Hollis nearly jumped, then turned his attention back to the sample. He opened a metal case and pulled pyrex containers from within.
“Maintain the perimeter, boys. If anything gets within a hundred meters, put ’em down!”
He opened each of the containers and poured the blackish goo into each one. He secured the lids and placed each one carefully inside the metal case. He tossed the extension and the beaker into the spring, then stepped back and pulled his head covering off.
He peeled the thick rubber gloves off then reached for a satchel. He pulled out some large, wet rags and began wiping the outside of the metal case with them, tossing each one aside until he was assured the exterior had been sanitized.
With that task complete, he began peeling the rubber suit off. Reports from the rifles cracked from the other side of the Humvee and Buck jumped at the sounds.
Hatcher pulled the boy back to the rear door and pushed him inside. “We’re about to go. Don’t worry. These guys are the best.” He gave Buck a wink, then shut the door.
Hollis peeled the last of the suit off and kicked it aside. “Load up! Back to the LZ. Sergeant, radio the chopper and tell them we’re inbound. Alert them that we are plus one!”
“Roger that, sir.”
Hollis yelled at his men to load up and one of the soldiers manned the machine gun turret at the top of the second Humvee. He tracked the Zeds as they darted between the trees surrounding their position.
“Don’t shoot unless they charge or make a threatening move.” Hollis ordered through the radio. “Conserve our ammo in case we hit a shit storm between here and the LZ.”
The vehicles shot away from the hot spring and turned back toward the Visitor Center. Hollis tried to make his notes on the move, but the road was too rough. He sighed heavily and jotted down the time and GPS coordinates. The rest would have to wait.
Hatcher leaned forward and tapped his shoulder. “The parking area in front of the center is more than big enough for your chopper to land. It would cut a little more transit time.”
Hollis shook his head. “Where we landed is our primary. We have a fallback position, but that’s only if the primary is overrun.” He checked his watch and smiled. “We’ll have plenty of time.”
“For?”
“To get to the refueling station before dark.”
The Humvee slid to a stop and the driver pointed to the trail ahead of them. “Uh, sir?”
Hollis looked up and saw the Zeds almost in formation, working their way up the mountain. They carried spears, and the one leading the group carried what looked like a military rifle in his hands.
Hatcher leaned forward and took in the force ahead of them. “Fuck me…”
Hollis nodded slowly. “You can say that again.”
The two bikers slowed their rides and pulled to the shade of an abandoned gas station. “Man, I ain’t seeing shit here.”
The second biker pulled his t-shirt up and wiped the grit and sweat from his face. “Me, neither.” He motioned to the other with his chin. “Radio Squirrel and see what he wants us to do.”
The man pulled the radio from his jacket and
