Read Online Dead Air (Book One of The Dead Series) by Jon Schafer - Free Book Online Page B

him to consider his wife and the list of chores he’d told her to finish before he returned from the bar. Although she had been her usual complacent self when he came home from his job at the foundry, and had even said, 'yes dear’ in a subservient way when he laid out each of her duties for the evening, for some reason Anton had felt uneasy around her. It was nothing he could put his finger on, just that she acted oddly during dinner. A few times he thought he caught her looking at him out of the corner of her eye in a sly way, but when he looked directly at her, she only smiled reassuringly at him. Normally, this might be enough to set him off but he couldn't quite be sure that she was being disrespectful, so he decided not to discipline her for it. Instead, he would wait and watch. Although Anton couldn't believe that she would openly defy him, he had the feeling she was up to something.
    Checking his watch, Anton saw that it was eight o'clock. His normal routine was to stay at the bar until at least ten , but tonight he considered going home early to see what his beloved spouse might be up to. It wouldn't do for her to be resting on her laurels, watching television and eating ice cream when she had duties to attend to. Downing his drink and standing, he decided that he would go home and check up on things. If they were even slightly off, the little woman would get some motivation at the toe of his boot.
    After explaining that he was tired and was going to turn in early, Anton exchang ed goodnights with the regulars. A few of them called out to be careful of any crazed killers on the streets. As he walked out the door, Anton considered the warnings and immediately dismissed them. He wasn’t concerned with being attacked by anyone infected with this HWNW virus. While the virus seemed to spread fast, and at first they had quite a few incidents in the city with people going crazy and trying to eat each other, the Governor of Oklahoma was one of the first to call out the National Guard to keep order. With the Guard's help, the good people of Enid, Oklahoma had set up checkpoints on all the routes into town and effectively quarantined themselves from the disease. Those cases that did rear their ugly heads in town were put down as soon as they popped up. The rule was: if someone became infected with the disease, it was your civic duty to see that they didn't spread it.
    Permanently see that they didn't spread it.
    In this way, the streets were kept safe and sound for the citizens of Enid.
    Anton felt anger build in him before even entering his house. Turning the key in the dead bolt of the front door, he realized immediately that it was unlocked. He had told that damn woman time and time again that she needed to lock the door after he went out.
    "Strike one." Anton said quietly as he wondered what else the little woman had neglected to do. This became apparent as soon as he entered the kitchen. The dinner dishes sat unwashed in the sink where they had been when he'd left for the bar. A flash of anger shot through him as he looked at the dried mustard and ketchup stains on the plates. Vowing that he would make her lick them clean, and in Anton's case this wasn't an idle threat but a real one, he called out, "Strike two," before moving to the laundry room to hang up his coat.
    Standing in the doorway to the small back room that held the washer and dryer, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Strewn across the floor was at least a weeks worth of dirty laundry. This mess hadn't been there when he left for the bar, which made him curious as to where she had been hiding the soiled clothing. It was almost like she had planned this as an open act of defiance.
    Instead of being overcome by an insane rage at this sight, Anton felt a calm come over him. He hadn't had to discipline his wife for such an outrageous display of disobedience in a long time , but he knew exactly what to do. He never went after her swinging wildly, instead preferring