Read Hour 23 for Free Online Page B

could hear a helicopter go buzzing by above her. Through her windshield she watched it ascend then disappear above the hill before again having to jam on her cars brakes. There was something sitting in the middle of the street—maybe a dead animal? Dana swerved to avoid it.
    Driving slowly, Dana peered out her driver’s side window to make out what was lying in the middle of the street. She quickly placed her hand over her mouth and recoiled in horror.
    The object was not road kill or garbage. It was unmistakably two short legs, one of them with a black buckle shoe still attached, both dressed neatly in long white stockings. The legs traveled up to a green skirt that was covered in blood and, from the looks of it, intestines.
    Dana fought the urge to get sick and drove further onward. She followed a slight curve in the road before being greeted by a flood of red and blue lights.
    There was a barricade made up of several yellow, heavy gauge fences and emergency vehicles. The barricade blocked the short section of road between Dana and the high school. In the ditch to her right was a totaled, black Ford Explorer. Surrounding the wrecked vehicle were persons dressed head-to-toe in hazmat suits. They stood around the crumpled Explorer, carefully examining the wreckage. Behind the barricade fences were several police cruisers and a large black van. Dana slowed her car to a stop. One of the vans behind the barricade had lettering different from the others—Dana couldn’t quite tell, but it looked like “C.D.C.”
    Why is the Center for Disease Control responding to a vehicle fire—
    A loud knock rapped on Dana’s driver side window, startling her. Outside was a tall, masculine police officer. The word “BLANKENSHIP” was stamped into a brass nametag above his left breast pocket.
    “Roll down your window, ma’am.”
    Dana obliged.
    “Where are you headed to this morning?” the officer asked.
    “I’m…I’m a teacher. An English teacher at Henderson,” Dana stuttered.
    “Ma’am, I’m going to need you to carefully turn around here, and head back the way you came. You coming from home?” The officer’s voice was devoid of emotion and very matter-of-fact.
    “Home?” Dana mumbled. “I’m not going home. I need to be at my job, I need to help—”
    “We have everything under control,” Blankenship said, leaning away from the car.
    “You can’t keep me from going into my job.”
    “Ma’am—”
    “You need to let me through right now, I need to be at—”
    “Ma’am,” Blankenship repeated with irritation. “No one is allowed through.”
    “I want to speak to your supervisor.”
    “I don’t have time for this shit,” Blankenship said. He reached for a leather pouch on his belt, unbuttoned it, and pulled out a pair of handcuffs.
    “Are you serious right now?” Dana said.
    “Step out of the car, ma’am.”
    Dana threw her hands up. “Fine. I’ll leave.”
    Blankenship put the cuffs back in their pouch and gave Dana a smug look.
    She pulled the steering wheel as far left as it would turn, and cautiously made a U-turn on the narrow road. As she pointed her car opposite of the barricade, she could see the hazmat workers had moved to the middle of the street. They were zipping up a small black bag where the pair of legs once were.
    Driving carefully, Dana descended Pigeon Hill and headed back towards the town below.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

 
    FOUR
     
    “What the hell do you think this is all about?” Min asked. He was standing on the stoop of the Cooper’s home, glancing anxiously up and down Elm, waiting for the ambulance to arrive.
    “Precautions. Covering their asses. You know how these things go.” Jim hocked a wad of spit into the lawn beside him, then finished tapping out a text message to Chloe— I’m sorry I couldn’t bring you to class. Long story. Tell you later.
    “Whatever,” Min said. He tugged at his belt. “I mean,