In the Dead: Volume 1 (8 page)

She nodded. Yeah, she knew that.

“
I’ll put Jude in,” she said and turned to the sidecar. She set the little boy into the protected shell of the sidecar. She pulled her own helmet from the floor of the car and set it on his head. It was huge and half covered his eyes, which made him giggle.

“
Yeah, I know,” she said with a smile as she pushed it back from his face. “We’ll pick up a kid’s one as soon as we can.”

He stared up at her, examining her face and then he cleared his throat.

“
Robin,” the little boy said, his voice hoarse from months of not using it.

Robin smiled as she climbed onto the motorcycle behind Carl. As she wrapped her arms around his waist, she asked, “See, aren’t you glad you didn’t just shoot him?”

He glanced at their new companion. When the little boy gave a small smile back, he shrugged.

“
Yeah. I guess there’s hope after all. Now come on, let’s go.”

He gunned the motorcycle’s engine and they headed off down the deserted highway.

Property Lines

Bobby Madison pushed off the wall near the front doors of the Clawson County Courthouse as Rex Ryan walked out.

“
Are you happy now?” Bobby called out.

Rex smirked. “You ain’t building that fence on
my
property, so yeah. I’m pretty fucking happy.”

Bobby clenched a fist at his side. “You think one ruling is going to change anything. This isn’t over.”

Rex chuckled and flipped him off before he strolled down the staircase and over to his beat up truck parked across the street.

“
Bobby!”

He turned. Maggie, his wife, was hanging out the window of their own car, which was parked on the side street next to the courthouse. She shook her head. “Come on, baby. I’ve got to get to the airport and you beating yourself up over this isn’t going to change anything.”

He sighed and got into the car. He started up the engine and rested his hands on the wheel. Maggie reached over and patted his shoulder. “Let’s go.”

He nodded as he pulled into traffic. “I can’t believe we lost.”

She shrugged. “Well, is it really that big of a deal to build a fence? We’ve been fighting this for three years and all we’ve managed to do is throw a bunch of money down the drain. Maybe this is a sign that it’s time to give up.”

Bobby stared at her for a brief moment then forced his gaze back to the road. “I can’t believe you would say that. Not after everything that’s happened.”

“
What’s happened except that you and Rex have screamed and yelled at each other, dragged each other to court, called 911 at all hours of the day and night, given yourself an ulcer…”

Bobby shook his head as he pulled into the small local airport. “Come on, it’s way more than that. That bastard killed our tree, ran over my flower bed with his mower and I swear he poisoned the dog.”

Maggie sighed as he pulled into a short term parking space. She faced him. “The dog was fourteen years old, Bobby. He died of old age.”

“
He wasn’t sick, Maggie!”

She rubbed her hand over her face. “Bobby-”

“
Seriously, how can you not be pissed about this?”

She laughed, but the sound was anything but amused. “Oh, I
am
pissed. Pissed that two grown men have wasted so much time and space fighting over a foot of difference on a property line. Twelve inches, Bobby.
That’s
what I’m pissed about. At both of you.”

She got out of the car and slammed the door behind her before she reached in the back seat and grabbed her wheeled travel bag. She pulled the handle out and tugged it around to the other side of the car where Bobby stood.

“
I’m just going to be at Momma’s for a week. When I come back, I don’t want to talk about property lines ever again.” She arched a brow. “Got me?”

Bobby pursed his lips and nodded. She leaned up and kissed him. “Now you go on and go,” she said with a motion for him to get back in the car. “I can get in myself.”

Bobby blinked. “You don’t want me to go in with you?”

She shook her head. “Nope. You’ve got some thinking to do. Start doing it now.”

She patted his cheek and then rolled off toward the terminal. Bobby watched her until she reached the little street that separated the terminal from the parking lot. Then he got in the car and started it. For a long time he just sat there, staring at nothing in particular.

Maggie was pretending to be ok, but she was tired. Hell,
he
was tired of fighting, too. But he didn’t agree with her that this was a petty fight. It was a matter of principle, damn it! A matter of pride and ownership. Why didn’t she get that?

But she was right. This needed to end. And he had to end it. One way or another.

#

Rex grinned as he got out of his truck and stared out at his yard.
All
of his yard, including the foot that the court had verified was his today. Yup, life was good. He’d won and that was all there was to it.

He heard Bobby coming up the street before he saw him and turned to watch him pull into the driveway next to his own. He stopped at the end, sending rocks flying up onto the grass and threw himself out of the vehicle without even shutting the door behind him.

Rex tensed. He and Bobby had come close to blows over the years, but now his neighbor looked pretty damn serious.

“
You’re an asshole,” Bobby said as he crossed the lawn and onto Rex’s driveway.

“
You’re on my property,” Rex replied. “I could call the cops about you trespassing.”

“
Again?” Bobby shrugged, but the way his jaw tensed made it clear that he was anything but nonchalant about this situation. “I could probably break your nose before they got here, too.”

Rex shook his head. “But you won’t. Because then you’ll get arrested and poor Maggie will have to come bail you out. And I’d bet you already spent part of this month’s mortgage money paying that shitty lawyer you had in court with you today.”

“
You’re a motherfucker,” Bobby bit out as he advanced on Rex.

Rex set his feet, but when Bobby shoved him, he still staggered back a few steps. But now he was seeing red and nothing else mattered anymore. He lunged forward and shoved Bobby even harder than he had been shoved. Bobby caught his arms and the two of them started grappling.

Bobby was stronger than he looked with his wiry frame and glasses and Rex was almost impressed. Except that he hated the guy with every fiber of his being, so he refused to allow that.

“
You killed my dog,” Bobby growled through clenched teeth.

Rex shook his head. “What?”

“
I think you killed my dog!” he repeated, this time louder. “
And
I know you killed my apple tree.”

“
That tree was more on my property than yours.” Rex pushed him back and they hit Bobby’s car. The door slammed shut with their combined weights. “And you destroyed my mailbox.”

“
It wasn’t my fault it sticks out too much in the road.” But Bobby was grinning like he was proud and that pissed Rex off even more. “What about you mowing my flowerbeds?”

“
On my property,” Rex shouted and shoved hard. Bobby staggered back and managed to catch his balance when he hit the grass. He straightened up and glared at Rex.

“
There’s only one way to resolve this, you know-”

Rex smirked. “Oh yeah, what’s that?”

Bobby opened his mouth, but before he could speak the loud, piercing whine of the tornado siren filled the air. Both of them stopped and looked up at the clear summer sky.

“
Not a cloud,” Rex muttered. “And it’s not the right time for a test.”

Bobby nodded. “Could it have gone off accidentally?”

“
The box is locked,” Rex said. “You have to have a key to open it. And I know they just checked all those boxes for shorts, so I doubt it was that.”

Bobby blinked. “How do you know that, smart ass?”

Rex looked at him. “I work for the city, dumb ass.”

“
Oh yeah, that’s probably why you’re such a jerk.” Bobby looked up. The siren was still blaring. “So if you’re so smart, why are they firing that thing off in the middle of the day, off schedule and without a tornado threatening?”

“
There must be some other emergency,” Rex said with a frown. “I don’t smell smoke, so not a fire. The river isn’t close to flood stage, so it can’t be that.”

“
A terrorist attack?” Bobby said, more to himself than to his neighbor.

Rex shook his head. “Why would anyone attack here? There are what, three thousand people in this town and no infrastructure that would make it worthwhile.”

Bobby motioned behind Rex. “I guess we could ask Jenkins. I see him over there in his yard.”

Rex turned. His neighbor on the other side, Jenkins, lived further down the street than Bobby. He’d never had any problems with the man. He lifted his hand to wave, but Jenkins didn’t wave back. He just stood there in his yard, staring at them.

“
Think he saw us fighting?” Bobby asked and he looked chagrined.

Rex felt it, too. Acting like an adrenaline-fueled asshole was one thing. Getting caught acting like one was another.

“
Maybe. Look I’ll walk down there and see what’s up.”

“
I’m coming with you,” Bobby insisted as Rex walked away. “I don’t trust you to tell me the truth even if you did find out what it was.”

“
Christ man, whatever,” Rex sighed. “Come with me, stay at your house, I don’t give a shit.”

He didn’t look at Bobby as his neighbor followed him up the street toward where Jenkins was standing. Just standing, staring at them. As they got closer, Rex frowned. Jenkins had a weird expression on his face. Sort of blank and faraway. His skin was pale and he had a little something red on his shirt. Like blood.

“
Hey man, you okay?” Rex called out as they entered Jenkins’ yard. “Do you know what this whole siren thing is about?”

Jenkins looked at them for a long, silent moment. Then he opened his mouth and vomited a thick, black, bilious fluid. It sprayed onto the ground and also all across his plaid button-up shirt.

“
Oh shit,” Bobby said as he shoved past Rex to their other neighbor. “You okay man?”

Jenkins didn’t seem fazed by the vomit. He swayed gently and then, without warning, lifted his gaze to Bobby as he came closer.

“
Um, Bobby, his eyes are all weird.” Rex wrinkled his brow. “They’re like, red or something.”

Bobby tilted his head. “Trippy. Jenkins, buddy, you’re sick, okay. You should sit down and we’ll call for an ambulance.”

Jenkins stared at Bobby, watching as his hand extended to rest on Jenkins’ forearm. Then he let out a weird roar and grabbed for Bobby, pulling him closer and biting at him.

“
Fuck!” Bobby shouted as he braced his fists against Jenkins’ shoulder and shoved backward. Unlike Rex earlier, Jenkins didn’t move. It didn’t seem to matter how much Bobby strained, Jenkins, who probably gave up ten pounds to Bobby, didn’t move.

“
What the hell?” Rex jumped forward and grabbed Jenkins from behind to tug him away. “Get off!”

Jenkins swiveled and began snapping at Rex. His breath smelled terrible, like rotting meat. Rex flinched away from him and barely dodged his grinding teeth. He shoved with all his might and Jenkins careened away, tripping over his own feet to sprawl across the grass.

“
What is wrong with him?” Bobby asked as the two men watched Jenkins flip over and begin crawling toward him, still snarling and biting.

“
It’s like he’s rabid or something,” Rex said with a shake of his head. “Come on, we can call 911.”

“
My cell is in my car,” Bobby said, and sprinted after Rex toward his house. “I’ll go grab it.”

Rex looked up ahead. There were more people now in the yards. In Bobby’s yard. And they were all swaying and staggering the same way Jenkins had been. A sick feeling started in his stomach.

“
Um, I’m not sure your house is the best choice,” he said, motioning up ahead. “Look.”

Bobby blanched and his steps faltered as he saw the same group of people Rex did.

“
Come on, into my place,” Rex barked as he sprinted into his garage. Bobby got inside just as he hit the door button and the garage shut with a clank of gears.

“
God that thing is loud,” Bobby snapped. “You know it wakes Maggie up some morning?”

“
Right now you want to talk to me about the garage door?” Rex asked while he unlocked the back door and let them both into the house. “Don’t you think we should deal with the people outside first?”

Bobby snapped his mouth shut. “Fine. You think
they
are why the tornado siren is going off?”

That stopped Rex as he passed through the mud room and into the small kitchen. He turned to stare at Bobby. “If they fired the siren for that, it would mean some kind of mass sickness.”