Life After The Undead (Book 1) (12 page)

“
Go
!”
Mom
yelled.

I
hesitated. Part
of
my
brain
screamed
to
get
away,
telling
me there
was
nothing
I
could
do,
but
the
other
part
said
there
was
still
a
chance
I
could
save
her.
When
I
felt
the
cold
fingers
of
a
zombie
on
my
forearm,
the
survival
part
of
my
brain
took
over
and
I
drove
out
of
the
compound
as
fast as
I
could.

I
had
every
intention
of
heading
back
to
the
lookout
tower,
but
tears
clouded
my
eyes
and
I
couldn’t
see
through
the
trees.
I
wiped
at
my
face
and
tried
to
keep
the
four wheeler
on
level
ground.
Once
I
felt I
’d
put
enough
distance
between
me
and
the
zombies,
I
pulled
over
to
get
my
bearings.
I
turned
off
the
four wheeler
and
glanced
at
the
surroundings.
Pine
trees
encircled
me in
all
directions,
and
each
one
looked
exactly
the
same.
I
glanced
in
the
direction
I
came
from. It didn’t help. I had no idea where I was.
You
idiot!
I
thought.
Why
didn
’t
you
pay
more
attention
to
where
you
were
going?
I
turned
to
look
where
I
was
heading.
And
why
didn’t
you
ever
learn
how
to
shoot?
I
burst
into
tears.

A moan
resounded
somewhere
in
the
forest,
and
I
drew
in
a
sharp
breath.
I
didn
’t
even
glance
around
before
starting
the
four wheeler
and
heading deeper
into
the
woods.
I
ran
the
vehicle
for
another
thirty
minutes.
I stopped and tried
to
figure out
where
I
was,
this
time
on
top
a hill.
I
took
in
my
surroundings
and
sighed.
The
tower
was
a
long
way
off
to
my
left.
The
highway
was
over
two
hills to
my
right.
I
wondered
if
it
was
worth
going back
to
the
tower.
What
if
someone
else
tried
to
climb
the
rope
like
that
guy
had?
Would
I
be
able
to
shoot
him?
What
if
they
came
in
the
middle
of
the
night
while
I slept?
I
shuddered
at
the
thought. And then I realized I didn’t have the gun on me. I threw it on the ground at the complex and never picked it back up. My shoulders slouched and hopelessness threatened to overtake me.

I
was
pretty
sure
the
man
my
mom had
killed
was
human.
I
hadn
’t
seen
a
zombie
that
could
move
like
that.
Maybe
that
meant
there
were
other
survivors
from
the
complex.
Maybe
Dad
was
one
of
them.
I
glanced
from
the
lookout
tower
to
the
highway.
There
had
to
be
survivors.
I had to find them.
Human life
always
found
a
way
to
survive
the direst
of
situations.
It
was
the
only
glimmer
of
hope
I
had.
If
they
lived,
they
’d
probably
follow
the
road.
The
terrain
in
the
trees
was
almost
too
rough
and
uneven
for
the
four wheeler, so
it
’d
be difficult
for
any
other
vehicle.
Assuming
the
survivors
were
in
a
vehicle. If
they
were
on
foot,
the
forest
was
the
best
place
because
they
could
outrun
the
zombies.
I
didn’t
know
where,
or
if,
there
were
survivors,
but
I
didn’t
want
to
be
without
my
supplies.
I
decided
to
take
a
chance.
I
refueled
the
four wheeler
and
headed
for
the
highway.
After
I
reached
the
pavement,
I
stared
for a
few
minutes in
each
direction.
There
was
no way
for
me
to
tell which
way
they’d
gone,
so
I
’d
have
to
take
another
chance. If
I
went
to
my
right,
it
’d
lead
me
to
the
road
that
led
to
the
military
base,
and
there
was
a
good-sized
city
beyond.
To
my
left
was
a
long
stretch
of
road
that
eventually
led to
a
small town.
I
turned
the
handlebars
to
the
left.
If
the
complex
was
just
attacked,
more
than
likely
the city
was
going
to be
overrun
with
zombies
too.
If
the
survivors
were
thinking
as I
was,
they’d
want
to
get
as
far
away
as
possible
from
concentrated
hordes
of
the
undead.
I
revved
the
engine
and
headed
toward
the
horizon.

***

I
caught
up
to
a
group
of
survivors
before
sunset.
I
actually
burst into
laughter
when
I saw
them.
I
couldn’t
believe
my
good
fortune.
The
few
who’d
survived,
about
twenty,
had
piled
onto
a
troop
transport
truck
and
headed
east.
They
huddled
under
a
bridge
and
used
tarps
and
blankets
to
make
a
tent
with
men I
assumed
were
soldiers
standing lookout
on
either
side.
They
wore camo
and
carried
automatic
weapons.
If
they
weren
’t
soldiers,
they
were
doing
a
great
job
of
acting
as if they
were.
They
were
a
motley
group,
covered
in
ashes
and
blood
with
puffy
red
eyes.
A
few
of
them jumped
when
I
came
toward
them
and
cowered
in a
group.
Those
with
guns
surrounded
them
and
pointed
their
weapons
at
me.
I
turned
off
the
ATV
and
then held
up
my
hands.