Dead and Dead Again: Kansas City Quarantine

by Dalton Wolf

  Calvin stared into her dark, expressive, almond-shaped eyes. With dark eyebrows and high, sharp cheekbones that would have made Nefertiti jealous, Calvin’s knees weakened every time he touched her perfectly tanned skin. Athena Hannah Rosenthaal epitomized the kind of hotness that drug-addled rockers wrote ten-minute power-ballads about while impotently shooting heroin into their veins in a failed effort to fade, even for a moment, the haunting beauty of her strangely-reflective and hypnotic ebony eyes—and her beauty was natural enough for none of that to be hyperbole. A solid ten who thought she was a seven, Scooter believed he was about a five-and-a-half who she saw as a nine and for some reason she had fallen in love with him. Always a little more insecure than he liked, sooner or later he usually apologized.

  “Ok. I’m sorry, babe,” he mumbled.

  More often sooner rather than later, really.

  “You know I love you, too,” he added smoothly. “Look, I know this stuff is a drag for you sometimes, but I’m really happy you at least agreed to come with me this year. I always hope you’ll get to like these things just as much as I do…as my friends do—”

  “—your friends who aren’t here, by the way,” she pointed out.

  “Hey, everybody loves a parade.”

  “Except you, apparently.”

  “That’s just too many people.”

  “Maybe you haven’t noticed, but there are quite a few people here, too.”

  “But these are my kind of people.”

  “Chiefs fans aren’t your kind of people?”

  “But these people aren’t staring at me with judging eyes, wondering what I’m doing with you. Here they don’t even give me a second thought.”

  “They don’t have time to look over at you to give you a first thought, much less a second thought. No, they need all of their attention for my boobs. No less than four guys have walked into trees because they couldn’t look away from my girls.”

  “Hell yeah. That’s why I bought you that corset and wench outfit.”

  “Sure, it’s all about objectifying the women to—”

  “—are you just trying to start a fight today?”

  “Sorry.”

  “But you’re sort of right. It’s all about proper presentation of your fifth finest feature…features, so I can pass through this place unnoticed…and get awesome discounts on anything I buy. I had some serious shopping to do today.”

  “I suspected as much. That guy cut forty percent off of your axes without ever looking up.”

  “I noticed you didn’t do much to cover them…even leaned over a few times to adjust your leggings, which weren’t out of place at all from what I could see.”

  “Hey, they’re not that big. It’s really rare for me to get the boob stares. You really know how to present them.”

  “I know what I like; just picked the outfit I like the best.”

  “Well, you did a good job. You’ve got decent fashion sense. And you know I’ll do anything for you. Besides, you also know I never let a coupon go to waste.”

  “Which is rare in itself for a spoiled little rich girl.”

  “Hey!” she punched him on the arm, then changed the subject. “Do you really have a list of my—”

  “—wit; intelligence; eyes; smile; ass; boobs; nose; boobs; legs and ears. That’s my top ten. I can give you sub-categories for every main selection if you wish.”

  “You listed my boobs twice,” she noted.

  “I really like your boobs,” he explained. “Hey, now that I think on it, do you think I should maybe just move them up the list?”

  Athena rolled her eyes.

  “Kidding. I don’t really know why you put up with me, but I appreciate it, my little wench. I really do,” he leaned over took her into a tight embrace and kissed her fondly and thoroughly as she ran her fingers through his longer-than-usual dishwater blonde hair.

  For herself, Athena had no doubt he was some kind of alien species hiding on Earth because whenever they kissed, it seemed as if he had a half dozen extra limbs. One hand would softly massage her neck, one lightly fingering her spine while another ran gentle fingers through her hair and somehow others tickled her sides, belly and forearms all the while two more supported her entire body as her knees inevitably buckled.

  “You’d better appreciate me, M’lord,” she murmured and his kisses intensified at her use of the lingo. Little fingers of lightning danced up and down her spine and then happily skipped off to other body parts to explode in little balls of joy. Unlike her poor deluded boyfriend, Athena rarely asked herself why she put up with him or why she turned down every other guy who tried to steal her away from someone who was such an obvious geek in their eyes; she knew.

  Almost every time they kissed it was as if he were a sailor leaving for a long voyage and they were standing on the docks, waiting for him to board, saying with their bodies all of the things they’d be missing in the coming months and praying for a safe return. He did, indeed, show her just how much he loved her at every opportunity. And it was moments like this that reinforced the wisdom of her decision to go with him to the Ren Fest rather than with the others to the parade. Well, that and the fact that he had cheated and pulled out the ‘Valentine’s Day Again’ card.

  “Me thinks we might needs to obtain lodging in yonder tavern,” she panted as he pushed her up against a tree at the side of the jousting field and showed more appreciation for her use of the proper jargon, or any jargon at all, really.

  While he wasn’t the best looking man she’d dated—he simply refused to ever comb his hair without prompting and had the worst taste in clothes—he was kind of cute, showered regularly and was very fit for a geek. And he made her laugh constantly. Every cologne he wore assaulted her senses like an aphrodisiac. And he kissed like a Greek god, each time as passionate as their first time.

  “I don’t think they sell by the hour,” he laughed.

  “Then perhaps the King’s Privies?”

  “Hmm, they are right down the hill…but it’s always better to be uphill from the privies,” he joked.

  “And upwind.”

  “Ha ha, yes.”

  But the couple did not go anywhere, as he instead moved in again, locking her into a passionate kiss with no regard for where they were or who was watching. Her breath came in gasps because he had her pressed so tightly against the tree, which he was no doubt doing on purpose. After several minutes of passionate groping, he finally pulled back so they could each take a breather.

  “Hazzah!” several nearby peasants in ragged robes cheered enthusiastically and it took the couple a protracted moment to realize they weren’t cheering the sword fighting, which was still in progress. Scooter blushed and Athena curtsied as a group of a dozen or so gave signs of encouragement.

  “I just wish you could get into this as much as—damnit!” Scooter spat in annoyance as his phone buzzed for the fiftieth time and he finally held it up to read the latest text. It was Tripper and it read: Answer your fucking phone NOW!!! 911. The bastard had been calling repeatedly for at least half an hour and Calvin had been letting it go to voice so Athena would know he was here only with her. But his OCD could take only so much. “Hold on a second, babe. Trip needs some attention.”

  “We should probably both take a few to update anyway,” she suggested and pulled out her own device.

  His phone buzzed again and he answered. “Sup?”

  “Damnit, Scooter, where you been? I’ve been calling, like, forever.” Trip screamed.

  “I’ve been—”

  “—forget it. No time!”

  “Ok, I—”

  “—I said no time! Look, you got to get whatever weapons you can and some protection, and come downtown and meet us.”

  “Yeah, sure. I’ll get right on that. Taking weapons to a parade where there’s a thousand Secret Service agents wandering about protecting the Vice President. You know, I was just thinking today seems like a great day to examine the downtown jail, maybe try out
that new water-boarding thing over at Gitmo everyone’s been talking about.”

  “I’m not kidding, Scoot. And for your information, we just stole a half-dozen guns from the downtown jail because it’s as empty as your head.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “No shit. You and Athena need to get yourselves armed now and get in a car. No, find something bigger. In fact, the biggest vehicle you can get with a full tank of gas.”

  “Armed how? I’m at Ren Fest.”

  “Right, doesn’t matter. Buy a sword or whatever.”

  “What’s he babbling about?” Athena asked, edging closer to get a better listen.

  Scooter was afraid to put it on speaker the way his friend was acting. “I think he’s been drinking. Maybe he got some bad weed.”

  “We’ve been smoking El Supremo all morning and we’re not freaking out.”

  “What the hell are you babbling about, Trip?” Scooter passed on her question.

  “Zombies!”

  “What?”

  “Yup. Bad weed,” Athena nodded confidently.

  “Honest to God, flesh-eating, brain sucking Zombies from hell, man. They’re stomping all over Downtown like it’s the fucking Day of the Dead.”

  “Dude, we’re trying to have a romantic date here. It’s our Valentines Day Again…again. We’re not coming to the parade no matter what bullshit you pull. Have some class, man.”

  “Damnit! Wait one second,” his friend’s voice faded for a second. They could hear mumbled arguing as he talked to someone else. Then he returned. “There was a plane crash. Some virus got out and a guy bit some people and now there’s a full-blown epidemic down here of Infected people who seem dead, and are trying to eat everyone else. What does that sound like to you?”

  “Sounds like one of those bad zombie movies you make us suffer through on the StyFly channel.”

  “Right, only it’s happening right now…for real…right here.”

  “Look, Trip, maybe you’re taking your name a little too seriously today, or you had a bad nightmare last night, but I’m gonna have to let you go so I can get back to romancing the love of my life, OK?”

  Athena squeezed his hand and leaned in closer.

  “You talk to em, Babe,” they heard Trip saying to someone else. A woman’s voice mumbled something. “Just tell em!” he shouted.

  “Ok.” There was a slight pause. “He-hello?” a shaky voice murmured.

  “Sarah?” Athena asked, not quite recognizing her friend’s voice.

  “Hey, you guys, it’s not a joke,” Sarah sniffled, sounding stronger.

  Both Scooter and Athena now recognized her soft lilt.

  “It’s all true. I don’t know…I saw this…” she stopped talking and began sobbing and they heard Tripper trying to soothe her. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I was in control until we got to my building.”

  “You didn’t have time to think before, Hon,” Tripper said in a near whisper. “Now it has all come crashing down on you and you’ve got nothing but time to think about it. Hell, I’d be crying too if I didn’t have to make these calls.”

  “How did this happen?” she cried.

  “I don’t know, but you have to tell them, sweetie. They’re never gonna believe it coming from me.”

  “I know. It’s just so crazy, but…” her voice got stronger as she took the phone. “You guys?”

  “Tell us, Sarah.” Athena tried to sound encouraging—however one does that—and maybe she even succeeded, because Sarah did continue.

  “They…they’re eating people here. Live people. I saw…oh my God, I saw a cop eating a little girl’s face,” she broke down in tears with that declaration, but everything now came out in a rush between sobbing breaths. “They’re everywhere. They chased us. Trip was almost killed. We found this doctor. He was on the plane that crashed. But then we crashed Trip’s car and now we’re stuck downtown. I shot people. I shot people! We’re hiding at my work now. I’m so scared, you guys. It’s…it’s like some nightmare came to life and took over the city. I’ve got a gun…I shot some of them…they were people…and I shot them…I’m so scared. But we’re safe now, and we have a great position to defend ourselves. But it’s real and happening and oh my God, you guys. It’s really happening. Please come help us.”

  Scooter’s blood temperature dropped by degrees the longer he listened and Athena’s hand clutched his arm like an eagle’s claw does a juicy field mouse. Sarah Devorah Berg was about as straight as they came. Her mold had been carved into a perfect square and then God had shattered it when he realized she was straighter than he was. Granted, she had loosened up quite a bit after spending so many years with the group, but she would never be a part of one of Tripper’s jokes—she rarely even understood their purpose. Like Athena, Sarah was a spoiled little rich girl. But the only thing her daddy could never buy her was a good sense of humor, or even a bad one as this case would have been. Sarcasm was something she had been forced to understand and develop over five years of dealing with Trip and his friends.

  Zombies. Scooter let this information sink in while sharing an ‘oh shit’ look with his girlfriend. A cold chill ran down his spine and grabbed his nuts in a firm, merciless grip that made him throw up in his mouth a little. Forcing the acidic bile back down, he tried to give a reassuring smile as Athena’s tiny hand squeezed his own tightly.

  “What do we need to do?” Athena asked.

  “Hold on,” Sarah mumbled, followed by some muttered conversation and the sounds of the phone changing hands before Tripper jumped back in.

  “Dude,” Trip nearly shouted. “You need to get the fuck out of there and come get us. Festus says he has a vehicle that can get us safely out of town, and he’ll let us stay there if we have to.”

  “What about everyone else?” Athena asked.

  “Everyone else, who?”

  “Like our friends and families,” she explained.

  “He’s got room for us all.”

  “Call our parents while we’re on our way if you can, Trip,” Scooter explained calmly. “Tell them to head for the tracks off of 210 near Burlington if they can. If not, just tell them to get someplace safe with a radio and we’ll try to come get them.”

  “I hope we can still get through to the outer areas; the cell towers are getting hammered right now.”

  “We’ll try to call yours too just in case we have an open node here or something.”

  “Awesome. Get here quick, Scoot.”

  “Ok. But I got a question, man,” Scooter said, his voice taking on a deeper, more serious note than normal, to match the situation.

  “What?”

  “If these Zombies are roaming all over Downtown, why in Samuel K. Hell would I want to drive down there? I’m, like, two minutes from I-70. We can just turn west and keep going to the ocean. Hell, we could get on a boat and sail for six months ‘til this thing blows over. Seems like driving downtown is just shy of Stupidville.”

  “Because my car is totaled. I ran into a whole mob of stiffs trying to save this old doctor dude and we had to hoof it from there.”

  “Still seems a little dangerous for me and selfish for you. Don’t you want me and Athena to have long, happy lives? I mean, we could escape and live instead of dying as I try to save your ass…again.”

  “What if I let you have that threesome with Sarah and Athena you always wanted?”

  “The fuck did he just say?” Athena demanded in mock anger. He was always joking about that, only he was the one trying for the threesome, not Calvin.

  “Athena says she’s in,” Scooter shrugged at her innocently and she punched him in the shoulder. “But I think you need to sweeten the pot.”

  “I’m not putting myself into any sexual situation with you, Calvin,” Tripper joked.

  “You’re headed the wrong way, Tripper. I think I’m driving into a tunnel. Losing service…”

  “Ok, ok. You know how in those movies there’s always one guy who knows what the hel
l is going on?”

  “Right, some doctor or researcher or something who was working on a cure when the shit went down, but even though there are a million other scientists on the planet he’s the only one who can figure out the problem,” Calvin muttered with a bored, rote monotone. “I watch the same stupid shit you do.”

  “Right. Well, this guy we saved, the guy from the plane that crashed…”

  “Yes?”

  “He’s that guy.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “He’s supposedly got the only data on a possible way to stop this thing from spreading. Save me for that…and if not for that, then because I’m your best friend and you can’t live without me.”

  “Well damn. Got me there. Be there as soon as we can. Get your radio ready.”

  “Got it charged and ready. I’ll be on channel 9.”

  “Roger that. Over and out.”

  “What do you think is really going on?” Athena asked as he punched the red ‘end’ button. She sounded really scared despite the light tone of her question.

  Cal sized her up, trying to judge if she was ready to hear what he really thought. Though her eyes were drawn tight with worry, her sharp jaw was set and held high, expecting the worst news and determined to face it head-on. So he gave it to her. “I don’t know how or why, but I believe them both. I think something bad has gone down. Zombies, maybe, but definitely some people infected with something are down there doing bad things. And our friends are in the middle. Sarah wouldn’t lie.”

  “I know, but…”

  “It’s so ridiculous?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Well, for now I think we take it as fact. C’mon. We’re not too far from my axes.”

  “If they’re right, we’re going to need a lot more than that.”

  “Right. How much money do you have?”

  “I’ve got about a grand on me, but I’ve got better than paper…I’ve got plastic,” she pulled out a handful of credit cards and flashed them along with a heartbreaking smile and they turned as one and darted down the hill for the metal smith booths.