“Catch what?”
“What they got, Ruben.”
Ruben snorted. “We’re already exposed, Chuck. There’s nothing between us and them but fresh air.”
“That don’t mean it’s not catching, bro.” Chuck shook his head reluctantly. “You can’t risk it.”
“I gotta save my sisters,” Ruben said, a little more loudly than he intended.
Chuck shushed him, jerking his head toward the two men. It was clear that Sherriff Parker and reporter were not about to budge from their standoff.
“Have you tried to waken them?” the reporter was asking.
“Sir, those folks don’t know what the hell is going on and I can’t send anyone out there,” the sheriff answered.
“Why not?” The reporter was intent on getting his story and the lines of his face stood out sharply as he clenched his jaw in anger.
“Because you can’t cross the line. I got two deputies out there with the rest of the folk. Once you go twenty feet down the road, you become affected.”
Ruben and Chuck glanced at each other.
“See?” Chuck said.
“Shit.”
Sheriff Parker walked to a Texas Border Patrol SUV coming to a halt nearby. A deputy took the sheriff’s place between the two parked vehicles and stared down the reporter.
The man in the rolled up sleeves and tie with the perfectly coiffed hair turned to his cameraman with dismay. “How the hell are we supposed to get a story if they won’t let us into the affected area?”
The tall, hefty cameraman with a shock of red hair poking out from underneath his Rangers baseball cap didn’t lower his camera as he answered. “We should just run for it. What can they do to us?”
Ruben and Chuck side-eyed each other as they listened.
The barricade was a bit of yellow tape strung between the sheriff’s vehicle and the deputy’s. Though there were fences on both sides of the strip of asphalt, past the police line was an open road with only a few trucks crashed into the fence posts.
A silent agreement must have passed between the reporter and the cameraman because they both burst into a sprint and darted around the far side of the deputy’s car.
“Idiots,” the deputy declared, but didn’t follow. He turned to watch the two men racing up the road.
“Let’s go,” Ruben whispered to Chuck. “I need to get my sisters.”
“Wait!” Chuck said, grabbing his arm, his eyes widening. Following his friend’s gaze, Ruben saw the two men shudder to a halt. The heavy, expensive camera toppled from the shoulder of the redhead and smashed against the blacktop. In unison they started a slow walk after the other affected people.
The deputy chuckled.
“What the—?” Ruben exclaimed. “How?”
“We need to get out of here,” Chuck said turning toward the old work truck. “We need to go now!”
“But...that...how...” Ruben gripped the sides of his head, his spiky hair pricking his palms. “How?”
A second later Ruben’s terrified thoughts were drowned in a vast, icy void. Dropping his hands, he staggered forward and through the yellow tape. It caught on his belt buckle and held him for a brief second before dislodging from the sheriff’s car and trailing on the ground like a long snake. Along with the deputy, sheriff and border patrolman, Ruben joined the mesmerized.
Chapter 14
Las Vegas
2 PM