Blood Cult by Edwin Page Page A

end before the stereo was turned off once again.
    ‘Do you really think it’ll be safe?’
    ‘What other choices are there?’ replied Bob as he got back out of the
car. ‘We’d been thinking of going to the Adirondack Mountains, but then heard
the message this afternoon.’
    Tyreese looked at us for moment, clearly struggling to put voice to the
question he wanted to ask. ‘Can I tag along with you guys?’
    Bob glanced at me again, but I didn’t know how to respond. He’d just
risked his life in order to help, but we didn’t know him. He’d been reclusive
ever since moving in and I hadn’t seen him but a couple of times.
    ‘Please,’ he urged.
    ‘There’s no room in the Falcon,’ stated Bob.
    ‘I could follow in my car,’ suggested Tyreese.
    ‘You got a wife or kids?’ Bob glanced across the street, Tyreese’s house
merely a patch of deeper darkness in the night.
    He shook his head. ‘It’s just me and my cat. I’ve got plenty of food,’ he
offered, ‘and I’d have your backs,’ he added, glancing down at the youth, a pool
of blood slowly spreading from his torso.
    Bob looked to me again. ‘Sounds like a good idea to me. There’s safety in
numbers and the food would come in handy if something happens out on the road.’
    I nodded.
    ‘How quick can you get ready for the road?’ he asked, turning back to
Tyreese.
    ‘Half an hour maybe.’
    ‘Good. Honk when you’re ready and we’ll head off together.’
    ‘Much appreciated,’ said Tyreese.
    ‘It’s the least we can do, after all, you may have just saved my life.’
Bob smiled thinly.
    ‘Mommy?’
    We all turned to the front door as Chrissie stepped out of the house
apprehensively. Her eyes were wide as she took in the scene.
    ‘I told you to wait in your room,’ I stated, putting her case on the
driveway and quickly striding around the hood as I made my way to her.
    ‘Go back inside, Honey,’ called Bob.
    ‘You said everything was okay,’ she said, clutching Ollie to her chest
for comfort as I approached.
    ‘It is,’ I replied as I put a hand to her shoulder in order to guide her
back into the house.
    ‘Who’s that with Daddy?’ she asked, resisting my gentle persuasion.
    ‘That’s Tyreese. He’s going to be coming with us to Montreal.’
    ‘Did he kill the man?’
    I looked at her in surprise.
    ‘I can see him through the gap under the car,’ she stated.
    I sighed and crouched before her, holding my daughter’s gaze. ‘It doesn’t
matter who killed him. What matters is that we’re all safe and that you go back
inside until we’re ready to leave.’
    ‘Why did he kill him?’
    ‘Please, Chrissie,’ I said with growing irritation.
    ‘He was a bad man who tried to steal Daddy’s car, Honey,’ responded Bob.
‘Now do as your mother says and go back in.’
    Her gaze suddenly became fixed on something and her expression changed to
one of horrified surprise. ‘Why does Daddy have a gun?’ she asked in a whisper.
    I took a breath and shook my head, wishing she’d stayed in her room, that
she hadn’t borne witness to the scene on the driveway. ‘The world is different
now, Honey,’ I stated, looking deep into her eyes. ‘It’s more…’ I tried to
think of the right word. ‘…Dangerous.’
    ‘Dangerous?’ she echoed quietly.
    I nodded. ‘Yes. We’ve already told you how things have changed, but what
we didn’t say is that some people will act differently now.’
    ‘How do you mean “differently”?’
    ‘People will do things they wouldn’t normally do in order to survive, and
that might mean trying to take things from us that they want or need.’
    ‘Bad people?’
    ‘Desperate people,’ I replied.
    ‘Will Daddy have to shoot them?’
    ‘Hopefully not. Things will be different in Montreal.’ I gave her
shoulder a gentle squeeze. ‘We’ll be safe there.’
    ‘How long will it be before we can come back?’
    I sagged a little, wishing I hadn’t told her that our stay would only