Dead and Dead Again: Kansas City Quarantine Read Free Page A

balloons of the other major cities were flying, but there
were more than enough of everything else to satiate the pallets of most
paradophiles.
    The entire country was watching and
talking about what they were drinking in the water out here and once again
people were proud to live in the area, whether on the Kansas side or in Missouri,
because the most important thing everyone was learning about Kansas City was
that it was splayed out over half a hundred miles just inside the borders of
both states. The Chiefs, Royals and Mavericks played in Missouri, and Kansas housed the T-Bones, SKC Wizards as well as FC Kansas City, the National Women’s
Soccer League team that had just repeated another championship. Most of the art
and science buildings were located on the Missouri side, while much of the
upscale shopping and housing sat along the Kansas border. Only the nerdliest of
students knew how many cities were now included in the KC Metro Area, but it
seemed like a hell of a lot to Trip.
    “Babe!” Sarah snapped his head back
to the moment with a hand on his shoulder.
    “What?”
    “What is wrong with you?”
    “Nuttin, honey. Let’s watch the
parade.”
    “I have been, but you’re drifting.” She poked a red and gold nail into his chest.
    “Just…” he sighed in exasperation.
“Maybe I smoked too much this morning.”
    That was true. El Supremo, a
potent blend that his friend Hephaestus had grown in his lab, was kicking his
ass today. Most of the time El Supremo was a kind and forgiving friend who let
them function like normal people with killer senses of humor, but occasionally
the magical bud would hit them over the head with the +8 Hammer of Stupid and lobotomize
them into social zombies.
    “I told you not to start so early
this morning, Sweetie. You’ll be asleep by noon.”
    “I’m fine, Dollface. I
just—hey…that’s not right.”
    “What?”
    She followed the direction of his storm-gray
eyes as they drifted up and behind her at something high above the buildings
along the street to the West. “It’s just a plane going in for a landing at the
airport,” she shrugged after a quick glance.
    “I’m pretty sure this is a no fly
zone with the Vice-President here today. And that thing is off course and way
too low if it’s going for Wheeler.”
    “I don’t know if…yeah, maybe you’re
right. I don’t think that engine is running.”
    “No maybe about it. I thought it
seemed weird. There’s no sound. Neither engine is running. It’s not landing ;
it’s crashing ! C’mon!” he shouted, running north, away from the incoming
plane, but in the same direction.
    “What are you doing? If we just
wait here, it’ll pass over us and we’ll be safe.”
    “I know. I’m not worried about
being safe. I want to see where it goes.”
    “Why?” she called after him,
throwing her hands up in disgust.
    The plane veered west over the
buildings and out of their sight towards Broadway, so he turned at the nearest
corner. He didn’t read the sign, but he thought it was 15 th or
something. With a resigned sigh and the certainty of pending regret, Sarah ran to
catch him, golden pony tail bobbing behind her.
    “Do you think Boomer and Brick are
seeing this? I think they’re just a few blocks over by the new Performing Arts
Center.”
    “Who cares,” Sarah muttered
bitterly, but Trip ran on without noticing.
    “I think it’s going to try and land
on Broadway!” he panted, already out of breath.
    Being a former track star at her
private school and then later in college, she easily caught him and kept pace. But
that wasn’t enough so she memorized the path ahead and turned to run backwards,
giving him a ‘come hither’ wink as a special kind of torture.
    Catch me and you can have me. Her look said.
    Sure, if you can stop and wait
until I get there, that’d be great, his body replied. I gotta quit
smoking so much, he thought for the thousandth time.
    A distant screeching echoed through
the streets. Both