Life After The Undead (Book 1) (39 page)

“You
know,
you
weren
’
t
very
nice
to
my
friend.”

I
huffed.
“Not
very
nice to
your
friend?
What
was
I
supposed
to
do?
Let
her
have
anything of
mine
she
wanted?”

“She
lives
in
the
wo
rker’
s
camp,
Krista. She
doesn
’t
have
a
lot
of
nice
things.”

“How
is that my
fault?”

“It’s
not,
but
like
I
said,
this
stuff
isn’t
yours.
I
t’s
mine.
Everything
in
this
town
belongs
to
me.
I’m
nice
enough
to
let
you
have
it.”

I threw
the
clothes
I
had
in
my
hands
at
him.
“I
don’t
want
your
charity,”
I
shouted.
“Take
it.
Take
it
all
back.”
I
grabbed
my
CDs and
dumped
them
onto
the
floor.

Liet
grabbed
my
arms.
“You
’r
e
being
ridiculous.
If
they
make
you
that
happy,
then
keep
them.
I
won
’t
let
anyone
else
touch
them.”
  He
released
his
grip.
“I’m
going
to
bed.
Clean
this
mess
up.”
He
left
the
room.

As
soon
as
he
left,
my
knees
shook
and
I
collapsed
onto
the
floor.
I
didn
’t
know
what
had
possessed
me
to
stand
up
to
him
like
that.
I
didn’t
know
what
he
was
going
to
do
to
me.
All
I
knew was
I
had
to
keep
the
one
and
only
place
I
felt safe.
I really
didn’t
care
about
the
things.
He
cou
ld’v
e
taken
them
if he
wanted
to,
but
I
needed
my
room.
I
needed
my
own
space.
I
took
a
deep
breath
and
started
cleaning
up.

***

The
next
morning I
was
summoned
to
a
meeting
in
Liet’s
office.
All
his
colonels
were
there,
and
he
looked
particularly
sullen.
I
took
a
seat
in
the
jury
box
and
waited.

“We
have
got
to
do
something about
our
supplies,”
Liet
spoke
quietly.
“We
’re
running
low,
and
there
is nothing
left
on
the
East
Coast.”

I
felt
contentious,
so
I
threw
my
arm
over
the
back
of
the
chair
and
placed
my
feet
on
the
seat
in
front
of
me.
“We
couldn
’t
have
picked
the
entire
East
Coast
clean.
There
has
to
be
something
left.”

Liet
set
his
jaw,
and
the
other
officers
stared
at
me
out
of
the
corners
of
their
eyes, shifting nervously and clearing their throats.

“There
are
still
places
in
the
East
that
have
supplies,
but
getting them
isn’t
feasible.
It
’d
take
a lot
of
time
and
gas
to
get
to
New
York
or
Maine,
and
we
don
’t
even
know
if
they
’l
l
have
what
we
need.
Even
getting gas
is
going
to
be
an
issue.
The
stations
we
used
before
have
all
dried
up.
Most
of
the
guards
who
manned
the
posts
along
the way
are now
working
for me
and
keeping their
eyes
on
the
work
crews
as
we
extend
north
and
south.”

“So
then
go
west,”
I
suggested.

Liet’s
eyes
flashed
with
anger
as
he
stared
at
me,
then
they
brightened.
“Tha
t’s
a
good
idea.”
He
turned
to
his
colonels.
“There
are
people
who
live
over
there,
they
know
the
land.
Send
out
a
broadcast.
Let
them know
that
anyone
willing
to help
with
supplies
will
be amply
rewarded.”

The
colonels
saluted
before
leaving
the
building.
I
stood
to
head
upstairs.

“I’m
glad
you
decided
to
stay,”
Liet
said.

I
snorted
and
walked
out
of
the
room.
I
wasn
’t
exactly
sure how
to
take
the
comment,
and
his
Jekyll
and
Hyde
routine
was
really
getting
old.

CHAPTER
10

I
switched
shifts
so
I
worked
nights
in
the
guard
tower.
I
thought
one
of
the
easiest
ways
to stay
on
Lie
t’s
good
side
was
to
stay
out
of
his
way.
Plus,
I
wanted
to
do
something
constructive
to
help
the
community.
Since
he
was
so
busy
during
the
day,
I
had
plenty
of
quiet
time
to
sleep.
When
he
came
home
angry
at
night
or
with
a
girl,
I left
so he
could
have
his
privacy.
We
attempted
to
keep
things
cordial
and
our
family
ties strong
by
having
dinner
together,
talking
about
the
mundane
happenings
that
occurred
earlier
in
the
day,
then
I
was
off
to
work.

The
schedule
worked
for
weeks,
then
one
day,
I
was
summoned
from
sleep
to
meet
Liet
in
his office.
It
was
important.
He
knew
I
worked
all
night,
and
he
usually
let
me
sleep.
My
curiosity
was
piqued.
What
was
going
on?
I
went
down
and
took
my
usual
seat
in
the
jury
box.
Three
guys
stood
in
front
of
Liet
’s
desk.
He stared
down
at
them,
his
eyebrows
pushed
together in
contemplation.

One
of
them
looked
to
be
the
same
age
as me
with
a round
face
and
bright
brown
eyes,
his
face
reddened
from
the
sun.
He
wore
a
tight
pair
of
Wranglers
and
a
plaid
shirt
with
cowboy
boots. He
carried
a
holster
on
his hip,
but it
was
empty.
The
guards
must
have
taken
his
gun
when
he’d
entered
the
gate.
No
one
but
the
soldiers
were
allowed
to
have
weapons.
Pam
explained
that
to
me
my
second
day
in
North
Platte.
She
never
told
me
why,
but
it
wasn
’t
hard
to
figure
out.
Guns
were
power.
Those
who
possessed
them
had
the
power,
those
who
didn’t,
didn’t.
It
was
your
typical
tyrannical
setup.

One
of
the
other
two
with him
was
older,
probably
in his
late
twenties.
He
was
stick thin,
and
his
jeans
hung
loosely
around
his
legs.
His
boots
were
faded
and
worn,
and
the
sun
had
tanned
his skin.
The
other
guy
was
a
younger
version
of
the
older,
although
not
much
older
than
I
was,
so
I
assumed
they
were
brothers.

“So,
now,
tell
me
why
I
should
trust
you?
You
don’t
even
look
over
eighteen.”

“Age
has nothing
to
do
with
experience. You
need
someone
to
get
you
supplies
in
the
West. I
can
get
you
supplies.”
His
voice
was
low,
quiet.
I
noticed
a
faint
accent,
a
subtle
twang
that
wasn
’t
quite
Southern
but
close.

“And
that
’s
a
guarantee?”

The
guy
shrugged.
“I
can’t
guarantee
anything,
but I
know
where
your
chances
are
the
best.”

Liet’s
eyes
narrowed.
“I
suppose
that
will
have
to
do.”
He
straightened
some
folders on
his
desk. “Give
me
a
few
days.
I
need
to
find
someone
to
send
with
you.”

I
slid
forward
in
my
chair.
“I’l
l
go.”

Liet
snorted.
“I
don’t
think
so.”

I
stood from
my
seat.
“Why
not?”

“Because
I
need
you
here.”

I
stepped
out
of
the
jury
box
and up
to
his
desk.
I
wanted
to
scream
at
him from
across
the
room
and
stamp
my
feet,
but
I
didn
’t
want
to
embarrass
myself
in
front
our
guests.

“For
what?
So
I
can
shoot
more
zombies
from
the
guard
tower?
Why
did
you
call
me
down
here
if
you
weren
’t
thinking
about
sending
me?”

Liet
leaned
forward
and
lowered
his
voice
to
a
whisper.
“I
wanted
you
to
see
that
someone
from
the
West
answered
our
call.
I
have
no
intention
of
sending
you
into
harm
’
s
way.”

I
lowered
my
voice
to
match
his.
“C’
mon.
All
your
soldiers are
busy
watching
the
workers. You
have
no
one
to
send
and
you
know
it.
I’m
the
only
one
who
can
go.
Pleeeease?”
  I
folded
my
hands
under
my
chin.

Liet
sighed
heavily
and
sat
back
in
his
chair.
“Fine
, but
you’d
better
be
careful
while
you
’r
e
out
there.”
He
turned
to
the
guys.
“This
is
Krista.
She
’l
l
be
going with
you.”

I
nodded
to
the
group
and then
went
upstairs
to
pack.
This
was
the
best
news
in
weeks.
Even
though
Liet
and
I
were
getting
along
better,
I still
dreaded
every
evening
I had
to
see
him
for
dinner.
I
never
knew
which
Liet
was
going
to show
up
—
the
nice
one
or
the
mean
one.
This
way,
I
didn’t
have
to
worry
about
it.