Un2Dead (Book One of the Un2Series)

Well-worn, fashionably torn jeans, a vintage Duran Duran concert t-shirt and a pair of cotton boxer briefs sat folded and stacked at the foot of the bed. They were placed so neatly it was as if someone took the time to measure in from the edges of the mattress to insure their proper placement. Red Chuck Taylors with rolled up white tube socks stuffed into them touched heels against the footboard. “Bad Dog” had been written graffiti-style across the off-white rubber nose of each shoe with a ballpoint pen. Gary lay curled on the floor between the footwear and the dresser watching the digital numbers change as the day crept toward dusk. Soon the horizon would be shades of orange and purple and Gary would be standing in front of the mirror primping.

Wit was in the kitchen anxiously awaiting the pot of coffee to finish brewing. He leaned over the pot and waved the rich aroma towards his flared nostrils. His renewed ability to consume real food would allow him to enjoy his first cup of rocket fuel since the mid-eighties. Joey walked into the kitchen in the shape of the letter “Y”, his arms wide above his head and his back arched in a stretch.

“I had the weirdest dream this morning,” Joey started, ”I don’t remember all of it, but I do remember someone was yodeling or pretending to be Tarzan or something like that.”

“That was not Tarzan, my friend, that was me.” Wit said, almost boastfully. ”Sliders don’t exactly slide through bowels that have been bunged for decades. It felt like someone reached into my stomach and pulled a porcupine out through my ass.”

“I hate when that happens,” Joey mocked.

“I hate when what happens?” Gary asked as he entered the kitchen.

“Wit shit a quill-covered mammal.” Joey stated very matter of factly.

“Oh, okay. Is there coffee? “Gary asked as he grabbed his cup from the counter.

“You’re not even going to ask what that means.”

“I would venture a guess that Wit had an excruciatingly painful bathroom experience since he introduced a dozen mini jalapeño cheese burgers and cheese fries into a digestive system that hadn’t been used since I went to this concert.” Gary pointed at the image of Simon Le Bon on his chest.

He poured a cup of coffee and took a seat at the table. Wit and Joey acknowledged Gary’s correct assumption and joined him.

“Did you tell Joey about the sunlight?” Gary queried.

“I can be in the sunlight. I went out for a walk. I saw a big bad wolf.” Wit raised an eyebrow and nodded toward Gary.

Gary struggled to swallow his mouthful of coffee without choking. “Really. We have been awake for all of five minutes and you have to bring that up?”

“Absolutely.” Wit turned to Joey. ”I caught Gary playing Little Red Riding Hood with the mail lady. Could this be the ‘Charisse’ you’ve been talking about?” Wit now turned his attention to a fidgeting Gary.

“No. She’s just a friend with a thing for role playing.”

“What other roles do you play?”

“Sometimes she’s ‘Timmy’ and she gets trapped in a well. Then I have to save her. Could we get back to the sunlight thing? Isn’t that a bit more important?”

“It may be more important but it isn’t nearly as funny. Okay, so I’m a creature of the light. I’m the pink sheep of the family.” Wit sipped his long awaited taste of coffee. It was strong and slightly bitter and a little too hot. It was everything he remembered it to be.

“You know what that means, don’t you?” Joey leaned forward. “It means we’re not limited to traveling at night. We can cut our trip in half. As long as I’m bagged in the back of the truck we’ll be golden.”

“Ah, yes. A boy, his dog and a body bag. The great American road trip.” Wit raised his cup for a toast. Gary raised his cup to Wit’s, meeting it with a clink. Joey mimed the same.

“Really guys, enough screwing around,” Joey chastised both of them. ”We need to get moving. We don’t know what’s going on inside Wit. His symptoms seem to show that he is alive again. We don’t know what else may be happening to him.” He pushed himself away from the table and went to his backpack near the door.

Wit’s eyes grew wider as his face flushed with color.” What are you talking about?”

“I’m just saying that there may be more to come. This happened two days ago and you’re already able to walk around in the sunlight. You’re eating burgers. You’re drinking coffee, for God’s sake. What makes you think this thing is over? Who knows what else might happen. Besides, Reese will be back soon. Don’t you want this fixed before she gets back, if possible?”

“Joey, you’re starting to scare me. I just looked at it as I wasn’t a vampire anymore. Now you’re saying that this might be a symptom of something worse.” Wit’s voice squeaked as he ran out of air at the end of his sentence.

“I’m not trying to scare you. I do want you to realize that this is indeed a serious matter that needs to be treated as such. Let’s get the stuff in the truck and get going.”

“Car.” Wit said out of habit before he could stop himself.

“Shotgun!” Gary yelled as he pushed past Joey in the doorway.

Wit got up from the table and put the dirty cups into the sink. He took a step away then paused for a moment. He stepped back to the sink, rinsed the still warm cups and set them upside down in the drying rack. Reese had trained him well.

Wit followed his traveling companions into the garage. The back of the truck was half full of duffel bags and backpacks secured in place with bungee cords. Wit checked to be sure they used the ones with the rubber coated hooks so as not to scratch the paint on the truck bed. He turned and locked the door behind him. Joey and Gary occupied two thirds of the El Camino’s interior. Wit slid in and filled the final third. Joey called up the maps app on his phone and directed Wit to avoid the highway since it would be loaded with commuters on their way home from work. They backed out of the garage and into the street. The garage door closed behind them as they headed east.

On a small end table just to the right of the kitchen door a bright red “3” flashed on an overlooked answering machine. The first message was from Reese, encouraging Wit to behave himself while she was gone. The second was a recorded reminder from the video store about an overdue DVD. The third message was Wit’s father-in-law asking him why Reese and Sunny weren’t on the plane when it arrived.