Page 77 of Crucified By the Dark
Too many questions, and she didn’t know if they would ever get answers now that he was dead. And yet, she’d take the mystery over losing Jeremy a million times over.
Jeremy ran beside Morry. She may have been terrified, but her face never gave it away. He was certain that if roles were reversed, he wouldn’t have been as calm and would’ve been yelling for someone to shoot Stephen. Lesson learned he was never fucking going into a dark building with the door open without either backup or turning on every fucking light with guns strapped to every part of his body.
“Go check the bar for anyone,” Trev called out.
“Why? What’s wrong,” Morry asked even as they veered their course to the front of the bar.
“Some type of gas.” Trev held up a mask. Jeremy had no idea where he got it. Was the guy a fucking wizard? Had he pulled it out of his ass?
“Lady Luck, come here,” Morry called out to the Hummer like it was a dog.
Sure enough, the vehicle backed out of its spot and raced over. She pulled open the back door, reached inside, and turned around, holding two gas masks.
He should’ve known. If he went looking, he might find a long-lost or dead, famous person in those fucking Hummers.
“What does that thing not do?” he said, accepting the offering.
“I haven’t figured out how to get her to do my laundry yet, and I’m not too interested in having sex with it,” Morry said as she pulled on her mask, but he couldn’t help but laugh.
“You better not,” he mumbled.
They ran for the bar but bounced off the door when they got there. Morry held her shoulder. “What the fuck?”
“Let me,” Jeremy said and lifted his boot to kick the door. It moved a little and then closed again. “I think someone is lying against it. I’m going to push it.” Jeremy grunted as he pushed with all his might. Whoever was on the other side was heavy as fuck.
“I see an arm,” Morry said, pointing inside. “Hold up there.” She slipped under his arm. “It’s Judd,” she called, the sound muffled with the mask on.
Grabbing his arm, she pulled him out of the way, then turned him to get him out the door. “Fuck, he’s heavy,” Morry complained as she got him outside.
As soon as Judd was out of the way, he pushed open the door and locked it in place so it wouldn’t close again.
“Come on, Judd. You better not be dead, you asswipe,” Morry growled, her fingers going to his neck. “He has a pulse. Go get one of the others.” Standing, she unlocked the second door and pushed it open to lock it into place.
Jeremy stepped into the dim bar area and looked around.
“Butch is alive, so is Ginny, and I’ve got the new prospect in here. He isn’t looking so good.” Jeremy picked the guy up and tossed him over his shoulder before marching to the open door. He laid the guy down beside Judd and went back inside.
“I’m going to open some windows,” he said after he pulled Butch and Ginny across the floor so they were closer to the open door.
Morry was giving the new guy mouth-to-mouth. Shit, he could’ve had her kiss him a long ass time ago if he’d thought about passing out.
“Is he going to live?”
The new guy gasped, his eyes opening wide before he rolled onto his side and began to cough.
“Looks like it,” Morry said.
Walking away, he jumped up on the closest bench, fiddled with the locks, then pushed the window open wide. It was rare that they were ever open with all the dust in the desert, and the fourth one seemed determined to stay closed.
“Any more inside?” Morry called out.
“Doesn’t look like it,” he answered, looking around. “But I haven’t checked the back.” He jogged into the kitchen and looked around, but all was quiet. He looked up at the ventilation vent. The little strings tied to it showed that air was moving. That had to be the source. How? No idea.
“No one in the back, but the air is on high. That has to be the source of entry for whatever knocked them out.”
Morry called out to the Hummer. “Hey, Lady Luck, scan for gas agents,” she said as he met her outside.
“Dangerously high quantities of CO2 found in the south building.”
