Life After The Undead (Book 1) (49 page)

“What is
that?” I
yelped.

“Tetanus
and
an
antibiotic.”
  He
pulled
out
the
needle
and
patted
me.
“You
’r
e
good
to
go.”

“Tha
t’s
it?”

He
smiled.
“Yep.
That
’s
it.
Try
to
be
more
careful
next
time.”

I
hopped
off
the
gurney
and
walked
to
the
courthouse
where
Quinn
and
the
guys
waited
for
me.
The worry was apparent on all of their faces, but they tried to cover it up with fake smiles.

“Did
they
say
anything?”
Quinn
asked.

I
shook
my
head.
“Nope. Just
gave
me a
shot
and
sent
me
on
my
way.”

They all seemed to relax at the same time. We
headed
up
the
stairs.
I
wasn
’t
even
nervous
about
seeing
Liet.
After
what
I
went
through,
talking
to
him
was
going
to be
a
breeze.

He sat
behind
his
desk,
conversing
with
a
soldier I
recognized
from
the
gate.
I
assumed
he’d
informed
the
general
of
what
we
brought
back.

Liet
glanced
at
us
as
we
approached. “Sounds
like
you
had
a
fruitful
trip.”

“Everything
went
as
we
promised,”
Quinn
said.

“Fabulous.
I
assume
you
’l
l
want
to
freshen
up
before
you
head
out
on
your
next
adventure.
Krista,
show
them
upstairs.”

I
turned
to
them
and
pointed
to
the
door
near
the
back
of
the
room.
They
headed
toward
it,
and
I
followed
them.
We
got
upstairs
and
I
showed
them
into
the
apartment.
The
first
thing
we
all
wanted
to
do
was
shower.
I
was
lucky,
I
had
my
own,
and
I
left
Quinn,
Bill,
and
Kyle
in
the
living
room,
arguing
over
which
one
was
going
to
go
first.

CHAPTER
12

I
was
called
into
Liet’s
office
seconds
after
getting
out
of
the
shower.
I
stood
before
his
desk
with
my
arms
folded
over
my
chest.
I
still
felt
dirty
and
violated. Even
though
I knew
the
process
was
for
everyone
’s
safety,
it
was
still
humiliating.
I
wondered
if
there
was
a
better
way.

“I see
you
were
quite
successful
in
the
West.”

“Yeah.
You
’d
be
amazed
how
much
stuff
is
out
there.”

He
smiled.
“Would
I?”
He
swung
his feet
onto
his
desk.
“Well,
it
seems
to
me since
there
is
such
a
plethora
of
goods
to
be
had,
we
might
as
well
stock
our
shelves.
Besides,
it’s
only
a
matter
of time
before
Florida
comes
to
us
begging
for
supplies.”

I tried
to
keep
my
excitement
to
a
minimum.
“You
want
me
to
go
out
again?”

“I’m
still
very
short
handed.”

“How
much do
you
want
me
to
get?”

Liet
shrugged
one
shoulder. “As
much
as
you
can.
I’ll
send
two
more
trucks.
One
for
fuel
and
one
for
anything
else
you
think
we
need.
When
you
fill
those,
I’ll
send
more.”
He
pulled
his
feet
from
the
desk
and
leaned
on
his
elbows.
“You
’l
l
leave
in
two
days.”

I
nodded,
trying
to
suppress
a
smile.
Despite
the
danger
and
the
vast
hordes
of
zombies,
I
was
excited
I could
go
back
out
to
the
West.
Life
was
so
much
simpler
out
there.
All
I
had
to
worry
about
was
zombies.
I
didn
’t
have
to
worry
about
random
girls
in
my
room
or Liet
being
overprotective.
I just
had
to
keep
an
eye
on
the
horizon.

Quinn
was
incentive
to
go
out
too.
He
was
caring
and
kind
and
really
cute.
He
knew
his way
around
the
West.
I
felt
safe
with
him.
The
other
two
weren
’t
bad
either.
They
were
quiet,
but
knew
what
they
were
doing.
Unlike
Liet,
I
didn’t
have
to
worry
about
what
I
said
or
if
the
evil twin
would
show
up. Quinn
and
the
guys
were
always
nice.

The
guys
were
seated
at
the
kitchen
table,
and
smiled
as I
entered
the
apartment.
I
walked
up
to
them,
barely
able
to
contain
my
excitement.

“Liet
would
like
us
to
leave
in
two
days
and
fill
up
two
more trucks.”
My
voice
was
slightly
higher
pitched
than
normal.
I
hoped
it
didn’t
annoy
them
. It
kind
of
annoyed
me.
I felt my
face
turn
red.

Quinn
nodded.
“Sure.
What
do
we
do
until
then?”

I
shrugged.
“The
re’s
not
much
to
do.
I
usually
bide
my
time
by
taking
a
shift
in
the
guard
towers
or
sitting
in
my
room
listening
to
music.
I’v
e
found
both
are
very
relaxing.”

Quinn
smiled.
“Well,
I
’
m
pretty
sure
Liet
wouldn
’t
want
me
hanging out
in
your
room,
so
if
you
go
to
the
guard
tower,
I’ll
join
you.
If
you
don
’t
mind.”

I felt my
face
turn
even
redder,
and
I let
out
a
nervous
chuckle.
I
glanced
at
the
other
two.

Bill
held
up
his
hands.
“Not
me.
I’
m
going
to
see
what
I
can
find
in
town.
Kyle,
you
comin
’
with
me?”

“Yep.
Beats
sittin’
around
here!”

I
nodded
and
headed
to
my
room
to
get
boxes
of
ammunition
for
my
gun.
I
wasn
’t
surprised
Bill
and
Kyle
didn’t
want
to
come
with
us.
They
seemed
to
like
to
do
their
own
thing.
I
hoped
they
didn’t
get
bored.

Quinn
and
I
took
the
late
shift
since
that
was
my
normal
schedule.
We
had
dinner
with
Liet,
which
was
very
uncomfortable.
Liet
asked
Quinn about
the
West
and
supplies,
but
there
was
something
about
the
way
he
looked
at
him
that
made
my
skin crawl. It
was
kind
of
a
sideways
glance,
and
his
lips
would
curl
into
a
snarl
when
Quinn
wasn
’t
looking.
When
Quinn
looked
up,
though,
a
smile
was
always
on
Liet’s
face.
I
ushered
him
out
the
door
as
quickly
as I
could.

We
climbed
to
the
top
of
the
tower
and then
took
a
seat.
I
placed
my
hands
on
the
rail
and
stared
at
the
horizon.
The
funeral
fire
had
been
stoked
since
I’d
been
gone,
and
greasy
black
smoke
billowed
through
the
sky.
Quinn
coughed
and
rubbed
his
eyes.