Read Online Exit 9 by Brett Battles - Free Book Online Page B

the valleys of the massive roof, the Lodge looked even more like it should be sitting at the base of a ski run instead of here in the middle of…
    Well, Ash still didn’t know where the ranch actually was. Colorado or Wyoming was his best guess. The nearby mountains in the west looked very much like the Rockies, but every time he’d flown in or out of the Ranch, the automatic shades had been closed on the jet’s windows during most of the flight.
    As they pulled up to the Lodge, Rachel and the chef, Bobbie, came out to greet them.
    “Look at you kids,” Rachel said. “It’s only been a few months and you’re both at least an inch taller.”
    “You think so?” Brandon asked, hopeful.
    “I’m sure of it.” Rachel gave him a hug, then held her arms open for Josie, who, after a moment’s hesitation, allowed Matt’s sister to wrap her arms around her. “And how are you doing, Josie?”
    “I’m fine.” The response was automatic.
    Rachel put a hand on each of the kids’ shoulders. “Why don’t you two go with Bobbie? She’ll get some dinner for you.”
    “Pizza?” Brandon asked.
    “If you want,” Bobbie said.
    Josie glanced warily at her father. “What about Dad?”
    “We’re going to go have a little talk, and he can join you later,” Rachel told her. “Josie, if you want, you can go check out the library after you finish eating. We’ve got some new books I think you’ll like.”
    Ash could tell his daughter saw through Rachel’s attempt to distract her. Josie was smart, something Ash knew she must have inherited from her mother, because he’d never been that smart at her age. She had also grown up so much since that night at Barker Flats when their lives had changed that there were times when she was more adult than teenager. It killed Ash whenever he saw that. He wanted her to be a kid as long as she could and enjoy growing up, but in the back of his mind he knew that possibility had died with her mother, with Ellen.
    For a moment, he was sure Josie would call Rachel out on the ploy, but she nodded and said, “Okay.”
    The whole group entered the Lodge, and Bobbie headed to the kitchen with the kids.
    Once they were gone, Rachel said, “We’re down in the Bunker.”
    __________
     
    T HE ROOM ACROSS the hall from the communications center was set up with several rows of folding chairs all facing a large flat-screen TV hanging on the wall at one end. Standing just to the side of the monitor beside a small desk were Matt, Billy, and Michael Humphrey. Billy was the Ranch’s doctor and all-around medical expert. Michael’s duties were a little harder for Ash to pin down, as he seemed to be involved in several things. There was no one else present.
    “Great,” Matt said, as Ash and the others entered. He walked over and shook Ash’s hand. “Glad you’re here.”
    Ash exchanged quick greetings with Michael and Billy, then looked around at the thirty or so empty chairs in the room. “Is it just us, or are others coming?”
    “This meeting’s just us.” Matt gestured at the front row. “Please, everyone, have a seat.”
    Matt remained standing while the others filled the chairs in the front row.
    As soon as they were settled, he said, “Ash, everyone else here already knows this. I can tell you with certainty the day we’ve all been fearing will happen sometime in the next three weeks unless it can somehow be stopped.”
    The words weren’t a surprise, given what Browne had said about the depots. The time frame was, though. Ash looked at Matt, hoping it was some kind of joke, but there was no humor in the man’s eyes. Three weeks? Even after what Ash had seen, what he’d been through with his children, and living through the outbreak that killed his wife, he never really thought it would get to this, or even could get to this.
    “How do you know that?” he asked.
    “Did Tom tell you about the depots?”
    Ash nodded.
    “Without exception, at every depot we’re aware of, our