Deep Shadows by Vannetta Chapman Page B

tonight. The situation is the same as here.”
    â€œAll right. We will all convene again at six a.m. Except for Max and Shelby, who are both free to go.”
    Shelby should have been relieved, but after seeing the pulse of their town she didn’t actually feel comforted. It was an erratic heartbeat at best, prone to flights of panic.
    As they walked out of the office, Perkins headed toward the council chambers. Danny pulled Shelby to the side while Max spoke with the fire chief.
    â€œAre you all right?”
    â€œOf course I am.”
    â€œIs there anything you need? You or Carter?”
    Shelby looked left, right, and finally into the eyes of her friend. “We’re good right now. But if this thing unravels the way I think it will, who knows?”
    He nodded once, tightly, and said, “Let me know if there’s anything I can do.” Touching her arm lightly, he turned and hurried off to his office.
    Max caught up with her, his eyebrows raised as he nodded his head in Danny’s direction.
    â€œIt was nothing,” she assured him.
    As they turned to leave, Bob Bryant stepped in front of them. “You two need to stay out of this,” he said.
    â€œExcuse me?” Max tensed, and for a crazy moment Shelby thought he was going to punch their police chief in the jaw.
    â€œNo offense, Shelby. My wife loves your books. It’s just that… well, you write novels.”
    Which was exactly their problem.
    Fictional stories about society’s collapse were all well and good. They provided an entertaining read, challenged one’s survival instincts, and even taught a few coping techniques. But this? This was real, and it looked to Shelby like they were woefully unprepared to deal with it.

T EN
    I nstead of taking Shelby home, Max headed out of town on the county road.
    â€œYou must be more tired than I am.”
    â€œI’m exhausted,” he admitted.
    â€œYou drove past our street.”
    â€œThere’s one more thing I want to check out.”
    She groaned, so Max flashed her his warmest smile—what Shelby had once called his endearing cowboy smile. Best he could tell, she hadn’t meant it as a compliment.
    â€œForget it, Berkman. I’m impervious to your charm.”
    â€œI’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.”
    It felt good to joke about something inconsequential. The aurora continued to twirl and spin, brightening one moment and fading the next. Max was oddly awake and grateful to be out of city hall. He’d never been one to trust local authorities to solve his every need. The truth was, he felt better dealing with things himself, which was exactly what they were about to do.
    When he pulled off the pavement and parked in front of the city water tower, Shelby made no move to leave the truck. They both craned their necks to look up at the tall structure, which looked oddly like a large golf ball on top of a tall tee. The words Abney Argonauts were written in blue letters on the side of the white tank, alongside a mural of the high school’s mascot.
    â€œWant to tell me what we’re doing?”
    â€œWe’re going to climb the tower.”
    â€œClimb?”
    â€œUnless you see an elevator, which wouldn’t work anyway because there’s no electricity.”
    â€œMaybe I’ll wait here.” Shelby pulled her gaze from the tower to study him.
    â€œYou’re not going to let me go up there alone, are you?”
    â€œAnd why wouldn’t I?”
    â€œBecause I heard Perkins say everyone should work in pairs.”
    â€œSo you want me to go with you?”
    â€œWe need a comprehensive view of the area. No one in the mayor’s meeting thought about it.”
    â€œAnd what do you expect we’ll see?”
    â€œI have no idea, but I do know one thing.” He turned off the engine, opened his door, and tugged her hand, pulling her across the seat and out his side of the truck.