Life After The Undead (Book 1) (42 page)

“Where
are
we?”

“Casper.”
He
jumped
out
to
open
the
gate.

I stared
in
amazement
as
we
drove
into
the
construction
yard.
The
supplies
were
covered
in a
thick
layer
of
dust,
and
there
was
enough
to
last
North
Platte
a
year.
I
jumped
down
from
the
cab,
my
mouth
open. It
was
too
good
to
be
true.
There
was
no
way
this
stuff
was
still
sitting
there,
untouched.
No
one needed
this?
That
was
hard
to
believe, but
I
wasn
’t
one
to
question
good
fortune. I
turned
when
the
second
truck
squealed
to a
halt
and
Quinn
closed
the
gate.
He
stood
next
to
me,
his
hands
on
his
hips.
The
two
guys
from
the
other
truck
joined
them.

“Krista,
this is
Kyle
and
his
brother,
Bill.” Quinn gestured
toward
them.

I
nodded.

They
shook
my
hand
before
heading off
to
look
for
zombies.
I
thought
it
was
a
little
odd
that
they
didn’t
say
anything,
but
we
had
a
job
to
do.
There
was
no
reason
to
stall with
the
undead
roaming around.
I
turned
back
to
the
equipment.

“I-I
can’t
believe
it.
They
haven
’t
been
touched
in
years.”

Quinn
nodded.
“Yeah,
a
lot
of
places
are like
this.”

“Why
haven
’t
you
taken
any
of
the
supplies?”

“Don
’t
need
, ‘e
m.”
He
stepped
forward
and climbed
into
a
loader.

“How
can
you
not
need
them?”
  I
called
after
him.

His
hand
paused
on
the
key.
“‘C
ause
we
don
’t.”

He
smiled,
and
the
loader
roared
to
life. I
shook
my
head
in
confusion,
then
turned
away
to
see
what
I
could
load.

It
took
us
a
couple
hours
to
fill
the
truck
with
construction
supplies.
After
we
finished,
we
stopped
at
the
first
grocery
store
we
found.
We
left
the
engines
running
as
we
stared
through
the
glass
windows
at
the
front.
I
hadn
’t
actually
seen
a
zombie
since
we’d
arrived,
and
that
worried
me.
Again,
the
trip
to
International
Falls
crossed
my
mind.

“There
should
be
a
loading
dock
around
back,
but
I
want
to
make
sure
we
’r
e
not
walking
into
a
nest.” Quinn
put
the
truck into
park
and
then
grabbed
a
shotgun
from behind
the
seat.
“You
and
I
will
sweep
the
store,
and
Kyle
and
Bill
will
stay
outside
and
watch
our
backs.
Cool?”

My
stomach
knotted.
I
glanced
from
him
to
the
store
and
back
to
him
before
nodding.
I
pulled
my
gun
out
of
the
holster. Adjusting my grip on the handle and taking a deep breath, I opened the door.

Quinn
let
the
other
two
know
what
we
were
doing,
then
we
stepped
into
the
store.
The
air
was
humid
and
thick
with
the
smell of
rotten
meat
and
moldy
fruits
and
vegetables.
Pam
had taught
me
the
fastest
and
safest
way
to clear
an
area
was
together. You
stood
shoulder
to
shoulder
and
pointed
your
guns
in
opposite
directions.
That
way
you
always
had a
360-
degree
view
of
wha
t was
around
you.
Clearing
a
building
wasn’t
like
what
you
see
in
the
movies.
You
don’t
split
up
and
meet
in
the
middle.
Tha
t’s
a
good
way
to
get
shot.

Quinn
and
I
held
our
weapons
in
front
and
headed
to the
far
end
of
the
store.
I told
myself
to
take
deep
breaths
and
relax.
We
started with
the
farthest
aisle,
and
while
he
peeked
around
the
corner, I
watched
his
back. Empty.
We
hurried
to
the
next
aisle.
He peeked
around
the
corner again.
Empty.
We
were
about
to
move
forward
when
a
glass
jar
shattered
on
the
floor,
followed
by
a
low
moan.
I
tensed,
and
I
physically willed
myself
not
to
pee
my
pants.
Quinn
fired
a
shot
into
the
aisle.
A
thumping
sound
echoed
through
the
store,
and
I
risked
a
glance
around
the
corner.
A
zombie
lay
crumpled
on
the
tile.

“This
one
is
the
only
one
I
’v
e
seen
so
far,
but
there
might
be
more.
I
don’t
think
his
moan
was
loud enough
to
alert
the
others,
but
let’s
do
a
quick
sweep
of
the
storage
area.”

I
followed
him
to
the
back,
and
we
stepped
through
the
swinging
doors.
The
room
was
dark,
and
the
smell of
rotting
food
was
overpowering.
I
gagged.
Quinn
grabbed
some
flashlights
and
batteries
from
the
store.
He
handed
one
to
me.
By
that
point,
adrenaline
had
kicked
in
and
I
felt
pretty
good. If
any
zombies
wanted
to
mess
with
me,
they
were
going
to
get
a
face
full
of
lead.
I
clicked
the
light
on,
and
we
stepped
into
the
room.
I
flashed
the
beam into
a
corner
and
illuminated
three
zombies.
With
three
shots,
I
dispatched
them
before
they
knew
I
was
there.