“Dad, we don’t have the time for this. I need to get all of you out of here, now.”
“You stay away from us.”
“Damn it Dad, we don’t have the time! I can explain everything, but after you’re out of here.”
“Stanley,” his mother said, “Maybe he’s right.”
“No. We’re not going anywhere with him. You saw him, he’s like the other one.” He snarled, “it isn’t natural.”
“Dent, we need to get out of here,” Magdee said, running in. “Some have gotten away, and we’re pretty sure reinforcement have been called.”
“You,” dad growled. “I should have known you’d be involved in this.”
“Fuck off, dad,” she replied. “Dent, we have to go.”
“Dad, calm down. Magdalene isn’t with those who kidnapped you, she helped me rescue you.”
“She’s a Godless heathen who’s out in the woods fornicating with animals.”
“For fuck sake old man, I went to the woods to worship nature, not for sex and if you don’t come with us right now, we’re leaving you here.”
“No!” I stared at her. “We aren’t leaving them here, there’s no telling what they’ll do to them.” I turned back to my dad. “Look, I never got what your problem was with her, I’ve never believed in your God either, and you never threw me out, but—”
“I should have!”
I staggered back at the rage in his eyes.
“I should have known there’d be something wrong with you, You were that pervert’s son after all. I knew it was just a question of time until you showed us your true colors.”
“Dad, please—”
“Don’t call me that! You’re no son of mine!”
I… How could he say that to me?
“Stanley,” I head mom say, from what sounded like miles away. “Maybe we should go with him.”
He was my dad, they were my family. They were all I had.
“Mom’s right,” Tim said, as distant as her. “The firefight’s quiet now, but there’s no telling when it’ll start again. Dent knows the way out.”
I knew dad could be stubborn, but he had to see I was the same person. I was still the man he raised.
“Fine, we’ll follow him out of here.”
Someone shook my shoulder. “Dent,” Madgee said, “The old man finally saw reason, we can go.”
I forced myself back to here, pushed the pain away and looked at them. Jenifer head Rackun close to her, his sister was holding on to Tim’s leg. They all looked scared, except for dad, who was angry.
“Okay, take them down the stairs. Grab Colby and go to the dock. I’ll take the rear.”
Magdee and dad glared at each other for a moment then mom placed a hand on his arm and she nodded to her daughter. Magdee left the room and they followed her.
“Thanks for convincing dad,” I told Tim, placing a hand on his shoulder.
He flinched away, holding his daughter away from me. “Look,
I have no idea what’s going on, except that you’re part of it. You’re the reason this happened to us, and you’re the one who knows how to get out of here. That’s all I care about right now.” He hurried to joined the others.
I stood there for a long moment. I couldn’t believe the fear I’d seen on his face when he’d looked at me. We’d grown up together, he knew who I was.
“Dent!” Madgee called from down the stairs.
I reached to take the stunner out of my holster, but it wasn’t there. Right, the other two were the ones who’d picked up theirs. I grabbed it off the floor and joined them. I could see the others tying up the fallen.
I followed them to the back of the building, and where I’d seen the dock door, a thick plate of metal was bolted to the wall. It was larger than just the dock, by at least a dozen feet in width. I’d only seen one dock while out of body, and I realized it also covered the walk in door that had to be next to it. I tried to remember if I’d noticed it.
“Colby, I think there’s a door on the left side. See if you can pull the sheet away there.”
The armadillo stepped there and tapped the metal sheet.
“That’s thick.”
“I know, do your best. If you can’t manage it. We’ll risk going through the building and the front entrance.”
I took position with Magdee, keeping watch.
“You okay?” she whispered.
“Later,” I replied. I didn’t want to think about what dad had said to me.
There was a series of popping sound, like rapid fire and I spun, stunner raised, but it was the rivets breaking as Colby pulled the sheet away from the wall. The metal groaned as Colby bent it away. Half a door became visible just as the armadillo dropped to his knees.
“I’m done,” he said, panting.
Magdee rushed to the door, tried it, then kicked it open. I helped Colby to stand and followed my family outside.
“My car’s on the other side,” I said. “We can check on the others on the way. We’re going to have to get Martin’s ignition code.”
“I got that,” Colby said.
“We’re not going anywhere with you,” dad said.
“Damn it, dad, be reasonable. You can’t walk home, The kids
have been through enough. We can drive you there.”
“You think I’m going to put the children in danger by having them in a car with you or one of your freakish friend?
Think again.”
Magdee let out a sardonic laugh. “That’s just typical of narrow minded asshole like you.”
“Magdee, please,” I implored.
“No, you just risked your life stopping a serial killer, then you rushed here to save his sorry ass and what does he do? He gets angry because you have the gall to believe in a different God than him.”
“You did this to him,” dad snarled. “I just know it.”
“Denton’s his own man. He doesn’t need me or you telling him anything.”
“Stop it!” I put myself between them before it came to blows. “Dad, Magdee didn’t do anything to me. Who I believe in, what I can do, that wasn’t done to me, it’s part of who I am. It has always been.”
The terror on his face made it clear that hadn’t been the right thing to say. He looked over his shoulder at mom and Tim, then moved to place himself between me and them.
“If you’ve done anything to them, I am going to kill you.”
I had to take a step back at the rage behind his words.
“Dad, come down, I didn’t do anything to them, I wouldn’t. They’re my family. I’m your son, I’d never do anything to hurt anyone of you.”
“You’re not my son.”
“Of course I am. You—”
“The adoption was fake!”
“I know, but—”
“Don’t ever come close to us again.”
He turned and I grabbed his arm.
I was on my back, my muzzle screamed with pain. Dad was glaring at me, panting, his hand closed in a fist.
“Don’t you dare touch me, you heathen.”
“Dad.” But his back was too me. He put an arm over mom’s shoulders and the six of them walked away from me without looking back.
