Eddie chuckled and nodded slowly. “She’d better be. She was very devout in her beliefs.”
Brandy shook her head. “I don’t know that word, but if she’s there, I’m sure my mommy and daddy are making friends with her.”
Eddie smiled and lowered his face. “I’m sure they are.”
“You know…daddy says that they aren’t sad there. Only we can be sad, because we miss them.”
“Your daddy sounds very wise.”
She nodded. “Sometimes.” Then she chuckled lightly. “Sometimes not so much.”
“I think that’s all dads,” Eddie replied conspiratorially.
“Do you have any kids?”
He nodded slowly. “They’re all grown.”
“Have you seen them?”
Eddie shook his head. “They live…lived far away.” He looked up at her and gave her a sad smile. “They moved for their jobs.”
She reached out and took his hand. “Maybe you should wait a bit and try to find them.”
“Wait a bit?” He gave her a confused look.
She looked away and her voice was tiny. “They’re afraid you might hurt yourself.” She looked up at him. “Because you’re sad.”
Eddie’s eyes widened. “Is that so?” He shook his head slowly. “No, I’m not going to do that.”
She studied him for a moment, trying to guess if he was telling the truth. “You sure?”
Eddie chuckled lightly and reached for her other hand. “I’ll let you in on a little secret.” She leaned closer and he spoke softly. “Years ago, Evelyn and I promised each other that if something should ever happen to one of us, the other would carry on.”
“For real?”
He nodded gently. “That way we could keep the memory of the other alive for as long as possible.” He leaned back and sighed. “Your daddy is right. I am very sad. But as long as I remember her, she’s still alive.” He tapped his chest. “Right here.”
She smiled broadly and slid off the mattress. “I think I like you, Mr. Eddie.” She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug.
He patted her little back and fought back tears. “And I think I like you, too, little Brandy.”
She pulled back and wiped his cheek. “I have to go now, but I’ll visit you again.” She chewed at her lower lip as she thought. “Maybe you could tell me about her.”
He nodded slowly. “I’d be happy to.”
She smiled then put her hand up, “Okay bye!” then turned and reached for the door. “Hey, maybe you could move to a house by ours?”
Eddie smiled. “I think I’d like that.”
Captain Hilliard frowned as he loaded the deuce and a half truck. “This is insane,” he muttered.
“And General, I think that perhaps one or two of us should accompany the captain,” Broussard stated. “I think the subjects would be more likely to volunteer to come back with us if a civilian asked them.” He turned and glared at the captain. “Rather than being forced at gunpoint.”
General Green raised a brow at the man. “I suppose you’d prefer that it was yourself and Dr. Chaplain?”
“Given a choice, yes. We work well together.”
The general scoffed. “You do realize that if either of you try to run off—”
“We are fully aware of the ramifications,” he interrupted. “However, that won’t be an issue.”
“And why’s that?” Captain Hilliard asked.
“Because we are committed now to finding a cure,” Carol stated flatly. “Besides, the general made it clear that we are responsible for all of the CDC personnel now.” She looked to the general. “And we wouldn’t want anybody’s blood on our hands.”
The general pursed his lips as he considered the request. “Why not?” He looked at Captain Hilliard and an unspoken command was given: Keep an eye on them.
Hilliard nodded once.
“Then it’s settled.” Broussard motioned for Carol to step into the back of the truck. “We can ride back here with the soldiers.”
Captain Hilliard shook his head and glared at the two researchers before he grabbed the assist handle and slapped the side of the truck. “Move it out!” he barked before swinging his leg over the back and planting his butt on the bench. “The sooner this shit is over, the better.”
“Will we be heading toward Colorado Springs?” Carol asked.
Hilliard refused to look at her. “That’s the closest population center. With any luck we’ll run into some of your cured zombies before we get into the city center.”
“Technically, they aren’t ‘zombies,’” Broussard replied. “Zombies imply that they are dead. They aren’t.”
Hilliard gave him a ‘duh’ look. “You don’t say.”
Broussard chose to miss the sarcasm. “I do. If anything, they would simply be infected humans.”
“If you can call that human,” Hilliard grunted. “Eating each other.”
“Actually there are numerous accounts of modern day peoples who eat human flesh.” He leaned back on the bench and recited a few tribal names that lived along the Amazon basin.
“I really don’t care,” Hilliard all but yelled. He turned and shot a steely glare at him. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather we just keep our comments to ourselves for the duration of the trip.”
Broussard nodded absently. “If you prefer.” He sat back and gave Carol a sly smile. She fought the urge to smile back, choosing instead to look away.
The truck lurched and they all were jarred by a rather large bump in the road. Broussard and Carol glanced at each other before looking toward the rear of the truck. Before they could see what they’d run over, Captain Hilliard released the rear back flap and let if fall, blocking their view. “In case there are any snipers out there wanting a piece of us.” He gave them both a cocky smile. “Harder to hit somebody when you can’t see them.”
Broussard gave Carol a knowing look before he leaned back. “Perhaps we should have stayed at the lab.”
Carol moved across the short expanse and sat next to him. “I’m beginning to think the same thing.” She reached out and took his hand, squeezing it tightly. “Let’s hope we’re doing the right
