Higher Ground, Becky Black [best manga ereader .txt] 📗

froze, then put aside the towel he was using. He looked back at Zach. How important was it to him Adam believed the prediction? Or was it only important he went with Zach, whatever he believed?

“Frankly, I don’t know. I’ve looked at your data, and it looks sound. Your methods are meticulous. But it’s not my field, so I can’t decide for myself from that. But you seem very sure, and Korrie backs you up, so I’ll assume you’re right.”

“And if I’m not? If you follow me into the mountains and I’m wrong?”

“I figure I have more to lose if I stay here. If I go with you and you turn out to be wrong, then the worst I’ll get is a reprimand for missing work.” And possibly charged with stealing the department’s truck, but never mind. “But if I stay here and you turn out to be right, I’ll die. Playing the odds tells me I should go with you.”

“I see. Thank you for your honesty about it. What matters to me is you do come with me. Not only you, of course, everyone, but especially you.” He flushed, as if fearing he’d said too much. But Adam stepped forward and put his arms around him.

“I’m coming. I just found you, Zach Benesh. I’m not letting you get away yet. I’ll follow you up any mountain you want to climb.”

Zach kissed him. Not as hungry a kiss as the ones they’d shared so far. Quite soft, over quickly. No beard rasp on this one, as they were both freshly shaven and smooth skinned. As they broke, Adam was the one who said it this time, with a grin.

“Thank you.”

“I, er, you’re welcome. Right, I’d better pack my gear. Will you help me? You’re an experienced hiker, aren’t you?”

“I am,” Adam said as he followed Zach into the bedroom. He hiked in the hills for fun with small groups, all experienced walkers and climbers like him. He suspected the hiking they’d do in this case would be very different.

Zach stripped the sheets off the bed and tossed them in the corner. He grabbed a backpack from a closet and stood it on the bed, awaiting Adam’s advice. Adam had his Link in his hand with Zach’s list of items and his personal packing checklist, but he barely needed to refer to them.

“Item one,” he said. “Tent.”

“Ah. I don’t have one.”

“You can share mine.” Adam could have bitten his tongue as the words slipped out. They felt somehow more—hah—portentous than an invitation to share a tent for a couple of nights ought to.

If Zach found the words as portentous as Adam did, he didn’t show it, just nodded. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Adam glanced at his watch. Nearly 07:30. They’d better move this along. He went through the rest quickly. Some of the more specialized gear Zach didn’t have. But he had all the essentials. He must have done some field trips on his mineral surveys, even if he didn’t go walking for fun.

“Oh and last of all.” Adam grinned and picked up the lube they’d left on the nightstand. He put it in his pocket.

“I don’t know how much chance we’ll have of using that out on the trail,” Zach said, looking doubtful.

“A good hiker is always prepared.”

Chapter Ten

Adam had been right about the pets. Dogs ran around among the crowd. Some people carried cats in bulky, awkward boxes. Zach supposed there were even rabbits, guinea pigs, canaries, and who knew what else? But he didn’t care, simply happy there was a crowd. Despite Adam’s reassurance, he’d feared arriving to find only Professor Korrie and the Franes.

“Some people are carrying way too much,” Adam said as they got out of the truck. “We’re going to leave a trail of abandoned stuff behind us. Those kitty carriers, for one.”

“How many people do you think?” Zach asked.

“Perhaps three hundred.”

Three hundred, out of twelve hundred. Zach looked at his watch. It was 07:56. “There’s still time for more to come.” He heard raised voices from an edge of the crowd and smiled wryly at Adam. “And I expect you’re right about how long it will take to get away.” He got no reply and turned to see Adam scanning the crowd. “Adam?”

“Hm, what?” Adam shook himself, a moment of pain showing on his face before he turned it back into a smile. “Yeah. Let’s go see who’s being shouted at.”

It was the Franes. They stood at bay, with Sheriff Statham, Colleen Johnson, and other council members berating them and demanding they turn off the distress signal. Simon and Visha wore defiant glares, Simon holding his daughter, who looked frightened. But they didn’t back down, and Zach hoped that meant there might be some chance yet for the people who didn’t come with them today, if only rescue came in time.

“I could arrest you both and lock you up right now,” Statham said to the Franes as Zach and Adam arrived.

“You’d be signing their death warrants if you did,” Zach said. This brought everyone’s attention to him. The ringleader. The cause of all this trouble.

“I thought you arrested him.” Morrison glared at Statham.

“His friend posted bail.” Statham nodded at Adam, who got another of Morrison’s blistering glares.

“Him! He should be arrested for stealing Institute property. Give me the keys for the truck, Mr. Gray.”

Adam put a hand in his pocket, and for a second, Zach thought he was about to hand them over, but he left the hand there and shook his head. “No. Sorry, sir.”

“You’re fired.”

Adam grimaced and flashed Zach a look full of torn feelings, probably wondering if he’d thrown away his job on a fool’s errand. What could Zach say to comfort him? Zach could hardly hope he was right, but he was still sure of his findings. In only a few days, Adam’s job and everyone else’s would be gone anyway. He’d have to live with the torn feelings until then.

“Do you really think you can