In the Dead: Volume 1 (9 page)

Bobby moved past him, through to the living room where he looked out onto the street. “Yeah, I’d say this might qualify.”

Rex stood in the kitchen for a minute and then slowly made his way to join Bobby. There were at least twenty people milling about on his lawn now and even more up and down the street. By the way they held their limbs, some were clearly injured. Others vomited that same black material Jenkins had. Even others were carrying what looked to be… meat in their hands. Raw meat that they gnawed on.

Rex turned his face. “I’ll get the phone.”

“
Yeah,” Bobby said softly. “You’d better do that.”

Rex moved to the end table next to his couch where his cordless phone was resting in its cradle. He picked it up and turned it on, but when he lifted it to his ear, there was no dial tone waiting for him. Instead, there was dead air on the line. He clicked the phone off and on a second time, but it was no use.

“
Phone is dead,” he said softly. “And I don’t have a cell.”

Bobby turned toward him. “How do you not have a cell?”

He shrugged. “Just don’t need one. You said yours is in the car?”

Bobby looked outside. There were four or five infected people next to his car. “Um, yeah. But I’m not going out there.”

“
Chicken shit,” Rex muttered.

Bobby glared at him. “You want to do it?”

Rex looked outside and shook his head.

“
Yeah I didn’t think so.” Bobby moved away from the window. “Turn on the TV, maybe they’re talking about… whatever
this
is.”

The remote was next to the phone, so Rex grabbed it, clicked on the TV and sank into his comfy LazyBoy to watch. He had been watching “The Deadliest Catch” on Discovery the night before, so he was ready to change the channel to CNN or a local channel, but he was surprised that there was already news on Discovery. They were sharing a feed with MSNBC.

The news reporter had her “serious” face on and she was talking about infections, outbreaks and… to Rex’s utter surprise, she said the word “Zombie.”

Bobby moved to the couch where he could see the television. “Did she say zombie?”

Rex nodded. “That’s what I heard.”

They both leaned forward and for the next hour they just watched, taking in how an Outbreak had started hundreds of miles away in Seattle and spread like wildfire across the West. And that word: zombie. ZOMBIE. They said it over and over. Until it was no longer shocking.

Until it seemed normal. Just like the pictures of people like their neighbors, roaming through cities and killing each other. It gave Jenkins’ attack a whole new element.

“
I’m going to take a piss,” Bobby said.

Rex flinched. He’d almost forgotten his neighbor was sitting with him. “Yeah. It’s the first door on the right in the hall.”

“
Huh, just like in my house,” Bobby muttered as he walked away. “They must have the same floor plan.”

Rex got up and paced closer to the television. He leaned against the wall and stared as pictures from the initial Outbreak flashed over the screen. Seattle. Death. Blood.

With a shake of his head, he clicked the TV off just as Bobby came back into the living room.

“
Why did you do that?” Bobby asked.

Rex shrugged. “I’m not sure we’re learning anything new. And I don’t want to look at it for a few minutes.”

Bobby shook his head. “Who knew you were such a softie.”

When Rex didn’t answer, Bobby walked over to the shelf near the couch where Rex’s movies were stacked. He looked over the selection and smiled. “Hey, some of my favorites. Eastwood, a little Die Hard…”

Rex stared. “You mean we actually have something in common?”

“
I guess.”

There was a moment of awkward silence and then Rex stood up straighter. “Hey, where’s Maggie? Is she okay?”

Bobby paled. “She was going to visit her mom in St. Louis today. She’s on a plane right now. I would text her, but my phone…”

“
Is in the car.” Rex looked outside. “With the zombies.”

Bobby moved to stand next to him. “Yeah.”

There were five of them actually at the car and four more between the car and Rex’s front door.

“
Well, I’m sure it will take a while for any of this to reach the Midwest,” Rex reassured him. When Bobby frowned even deeper, he reached out and patted his arm.

Bobby looked at him out of the corner of his eye and Rex removed his hand.

“
Did you kill my dog?” Bobby asked.

Rex shut his eyes. “No. I swear. I thought about it, since I knew you wanted to build that fence to keep her in… but I’d never hurt a dog. I was actually kind of sad when she died, she was a good dog.”

Bobby smiled. “Yeah. Sorry about letting her shit in your yard.”

Rex turned on him. “I knew you did!”

He shrugged. “Well, all’s fair in love and war. Mostly war.”

“
Over a foot’s worth of property.” Rex shook his head. “It really feels stupid now.”

“
Yeah.”

“
When you pulled up you said there was only one way to resolve this,” Rex said. “So what was that? Kill me?”

Bobby laughed. “I thought of it, too. But I was actually going to offer to buy six inches of lawn from you. Split the difference.”

“
Why?” Rex asked. “After all this time?”

Bobby shifted uncomfortably. “Before she left, Maggie told me to knock it off. And I thought it might be nice if she came back and found out we wouldn’t ever have to go to court again. That I ‘acted like a grown-up’ like she always said I should.”

“
I’ll tell you what,” Rex said after they’d both been quiet for a while. “I’ll give it to you. I’ll even help you build the fence once there aren’t, you know, rabid killers in my…
our
yards.”

“
Yeah, about that, I don’t suppose you have any guns in here?” Bobby asked. “Because the news keeps saying the only way to control these things is to kill them with headshots or sever the head somehow. I assume at some point they might try to make it in here. Or we might decide to get out.”

Rex laughed. “Oh yeah, I’ve got a collection. It’s small, but it will hold us against a siege, at least for a while. Come on, I’ll show you where the safe is.”

He turned to go, but Bobby stopped him by saying, “Hey Rex?”

“
Yeah, man?” Rex turned back.

Bobby shifted. “Thanks. You let me come in here without even hesitating.”

“
Well, you would have done the same for me,” Rex said. “Now come on. This ain’t no time for Oprah shit. We’ve got guns to load.”

Til Death

“
I swear to God, Donna, if you fuck up my hair, I’m going to punch you.”

Donna squeezed her eyes shut and counted to ten before she smiled at her sister Heather in the mirror. “I promise, I won’t mess up your hair,” she reassured you. “You’re a beautiful bride.”

Her sister smirked as Donna gently smoothed some of her sister’s blonde hair across her forehead. “Of course, I am. I’ve only eaten watermelon and laxatives for the past three days.”

“
Huh,” Donna said as she blinked in disbelief.

Heather half-turned to look her up and down. “You might have tried it and then you wouldn’t look so sausagey.”

Donna’s mouth dropped open. “Did you just call me sausagey? As in, I look like a sausage?”

Heather shrugged one shoulder before she went back to admiring herself in the mirror. “If the casing fits…”

Donna pursed her lips and reminded herself, for what seemed like the thousandth time in the past six months, that this was her sister’s big day. She had to be forgiven, at least on some level, for being a bridezilla. A big, huge, fucking bratty bridezilla.

“
Look,” Donna said, “I’m just going to grab some air. I’ll send Aunt Liddy in to finish your make-up.”

“
Whatever.” Heather pursed her lips in the mirror. “Just not Mom. Don’t send it Mom, you know she’ll just cry all over and screw up her make-up and wrinkle my dress.”

“
Check,” Donna said as she left the room. “Don’t send in Mom.”

Out in the hallway, her mother’s sister Liddy was chatting with the minister’s wife. As Donna moved to slip past her, her aunt leaned over. “Dear, how is Heather?”

“
Just finishing up with her hair,” Donna said through clenched teeth. “She asked for your help.”

“
Of course,” Liddy sighed. “I do love a wedding. I wish you would hurry up and follow in your sister’s footsteps. You’re not getting any younger, you know.”

Donna nodded before she walked away. Not that anyone cared. Her aunt was already rushing into the bride’s room to take care of Heather’s whims and coo over her.

“
I wish I still smoked,” Donna muttered as she burst through the front doors of the church and into the warm summer air. Even the weather was insuring Heather a perfect day.

“
I have one if you want to start up again,” came a voice from behind her.

Donna turned and found a guy leaning on the wall of the church. He had a cigarette hanging from his lips, but it wasn’t lit. He was wearing a tux, one that matched the ones she’d seen Heather’s future husband, Rick and his groomsmen wearing when she passed by them earlier in the day.

“
Shit, I didn’t know anyone else was out here,” she said, then covered her mouth and looked up at the church. “I guess I shouldn’t swear at a church, huh?”

“
I won’t tell,” the new guy said. “About the swearing or the smoking.”

He held out a cigarette from a pack in his front pocket. It looked awesome, but she shook her head. “Better not. My sister smells cigarette smoke on this awful meringue of a dress and I’m toast.”

The guy looked her up and down and then laughed. Donna blushed. She knew she looked bad. The dress was orange, her worst color, and had puffed sleeves and a big bow that made her ass look huge. And gold trim and gold shoes and it was just awful.

“
Laugh it up, fuzz ball,” she muttered.

His eyes lit up. “A Star Wars girl.” He held out a hand. “I’m Carson, Rick’s cousin and one of the ushers.”

“
Hi Carson,” Donna said. “Donna. I’m Heather’s sister.”

He blinked. “Really?” She smiled at his honest reaction, even when he winced. “I mean, that’s great.”

“
Not really. But thanks for trying.” She motioned to his cigarette. “So what’s up with the unlit cigarette?”

He shrugged. “Rick would probably kill me, too. Plus, I told everyone I quit.”

“
Ah.” She looked around. “Well, I should probably go back in. We’re starting in just a few minutes.”

“
Maybe you can save a dance for me after?” Carson asked.

She smiled. Okay, he was cute. And not smarmy cute like Rick, who she’d never liked. He came from money and he was just a prick about it. Heather would be very happy… until he cheated on her with a secretary or a maid or something.

“
Yeah,” she said. “I promise.”

She was blushing as she came back into the church. And still blushing as she heard her sister yelling her name from down the hall.

#

“
The bride and groom have…” the minister paused with a small, put-upon sigh. “…written their own vows, which they will now share with us.”

Donna couldn’t help but mirror his sour expression. She could only guess what the two most shallow people in the world had written about this day. If only there were liquor, she could make it a drinking game based on how self-centered and inappropriate it would be.

She glanced over her shoulder. She could see Carson standing at the back of the church. Would he join in a drinking game with her? Could be fun…

“
Heather, you may begin,” the minister said.

Heather stared at Rick with a smug smile. “Rick, when I met you in that bar in Cancun, I was so drunk, I didn’t know-”

Before she could continue, there was a banging on the church doors. Everyone turned to look back, but the sound cut off.

“
-um, I was so drunk I didn’t know-” Heather began again.

She was interrupted a second time by the banging at the door, this time louder, like there was more than one person behind the barrier.

“
What the hell?” Heather snapped. “Who the fuck is interrupting my wedding?”

Donna flinched and prayed it wasn’t some jilted boyfriend come to “speak now” before he was told to “forever hold his peace”. Heather would love that, she’d live on it for months and Donna wasn’t sure she could hold her tongue that long.

The ushers both moved to the church doors. Carson reached for the mechanism but before he could open it and see who the intruder was, the doors burst open. They hit Carson and he flew back with a grunt that echoed and mingled with the gasps of the wedding guests, who had all begun to stand up and stare.

Donna craned her neck and saw that three people were coming through the door. Staggering was more like it. One was a man dressed in a police uniform, one a female nurse from the hospital down the street and one was a woman in shorts and a tank top. They started up the aisle, grunting and moaning with every step.