Life After The Undead (Book 1) (24 page)

I
furrowed
my
brow.
“Aren’t
I
staying
with
you?”

Liet
nodded.
“Eventually.
They
’r
e
finishing
the
remodeling
on
my
apartment.
As
soon
as
it’s
done,
you
can
move
in.”
He
grabbed
the
door
handle.
“I’l
l
see
you
at
dinner.”
He
winked,
then
turned
on
his
heel
and
left
the
house.

I
tightened
the
grip
on
my
bag
and
looked
around
the
room.
“Um,
should
I set
my
stuff
anywhere?”

One
of
the
women
stepped
forward.
I
tried
not
to
flinch,
but
the
soldier
was
almost
a
head
taller
than
I
was
and
twice
as
wide.
Her hair
was
pulled
back
in
cornrows,
and lines
etched
her
face.
She
placed
her
hands
on
her
hips
and
looked
me
up
and
down.

“How
old are
you?”

“Seventeen.”
The
word
caught
in
my
throat
and
I
choked
it
out.

The
woman
laughed. “Seventeen?
What
in
god’s
green
earth
are
you
doing
out
here?”

“I
couldn’t
stay
in
Florida.”

The
woman
laughed
again.
“I
bet
you
’r
e
rethinking
that
right
about
now.”
  She
stepped
forward
and
gently
grabbed
my
biceps
and
pulled
me
into
the
room.
“You
can
sleep
on
the
cot
next
to
the
kitchen.
What
did
you
do
in
Florida?”

“I
was
a
housekeeper.”

The
woman
turned
to
the
others
in
the
room.
“Well,
I’ll
be!
We
were
just
talking
about
how
we
needed
someone
to
help
us
clean
this
mess
up. Look,
girls,
God does
answer
prayers.”

The
others
chuckled.

“Here,
set
your
stuff
down.
Where
are
my
manners?
I’m
Pam.”
She
stuck
out
her
hand.

I
grabbed
it,
and
my
hand
was
engulfed
in
calluses
and
sandpaper
skin.
“Krista.”

“It’s
nice
to
meet
you,
Krista.
I
assume
that
since
Liet
didn
’t
put
you
out
in
a
tent
that
you
are
someth
in’
special.
What
kind
of
combat
training
do
you
have?”

I set
my
bag
on
the
bed
and
shook
my
head.
“None.”

I
thought
about
telling
her Liet
was
my
cousin,
but
since
she
didn
’t
specifically
ask,
I
didn’t
say
a
word.
It
wasn
’t
that
I
didn
’t
trust
her
. On
the
contrary,
she
was
nothing
like
the
others.
I
didn
’t
get
any
Carmen
vibes
at
all
, but
I
didn
’t
want
to
be
treated
differently.
I
wanted
her
to
treat
me
like a
soldier.

“None?
What
the…?”
  She
turned
to
the
other
girls,
who
’d
come
forward and
surrounded
us.
“We’ll
have
to
remedy
that
situation.”

“Liet
already
told
me
he’d
teach
me
to
fight.”

Pam
laughed.
“Tha
t’ll
be
the
day.
More
than
likely,
he’d
pawn
you
off
on
one
of
us.
Since
tha
t’s
the
case,
le
t’s
make
a
deal.
We’ll
teach
you
how
to
kill
zombies,
and
you
make
this
house
livable. Deal?”

I
looked
around
the
house
and
frowned.
The
carpet
was
torn
and
frayed
with
an inch-thick
layer
of
mud
and
the
walls
were
yellowed.
“I
guess.”

Pam
slapped
me
on
the
shoulder.
“Good.
We’ll
start combat training
tomorrow
.
You
have
a
few
hours
before
dinner,
perhaps
you
could
get
started now.”

I
nodded
and
took
a
deep
breath.
I
thought
the
easiest
thing
to
start
would
be
the
dishes,
so
I
headed
into
the
kitchen.
As
I
ran
the
water,
I
desperately
wished
I
had
my
iPod.
I
didn
’t
make
the
journey
to
be
another
maid.
I
scrubbed
furiously
at a
plate.
I
probably
cou
ld’v
e
gotten
out
of
it,
all
I
had
to
do
was
tell
them
I
was
related
to
Liet,
but
I’d
made
a
deal.
I
didn’t
want
to
be
treated
special
because
the
general
was
family.
I
wanted
to
make
my
own
way.
I
hoped
they
were
going
to
teach
me
something worthwhile
or
I
was
going
to be
angry.
I felt
eyes
on
me
and
looked
over
my
shoulder.
A
few
of
the
girls
stared,
but
they
didn’t
say
anything.
I
turned
back
to
my
work.

After I
finished
the
dishes,
I
headed
to
the
courthouse.
I
stepped
through
the
threshold
and
took
a
deep
breath.
The
room
had
been
converted
from
the
courtroom
into
Liet
’
s
office.
He’d
kept
the
bench
and
jury
box,
but
had
the
other
seats
ripped
out.
He
spoke
quietly
to
a
man
I
assumed
was
one
of
his
officers
because
of
his
uniform,
and
he
smiled
at
me
as I
entered.