Life After The Undead (Book 1) (50 page)

“You
get
used
to it
after
a
while,”
I
explained.

Quinn
spit
over
the
side
of
the
tower.
“Why
would
you
want
to?”

“It’s
better
than
it
was
when
I
first
got
here.
They
were
letting
the
bodies
rot in
the
field.”

Quinn
wrinkled
his
nose. “Still,
nothing
beats
the
fresh
air
where
I
live.”

I
sighed.
He
was
right
. There
wasn
’t
anything
better
than
the
fresh
air
in
the
West.
I
could
actually
breathe
out
there,
my
clothes
weren
’t
covered
in
a
thin
layer
of
ash,
and
I
didn’t
reek
of
smoke.

Everything
seemed
clean.

I
heard
shuffling
to
my
left,
so
I
grabbed
the
searchlight
and
swung
it in
that
direction.
The
beam
landed
on
a
zombie,
and
I
raised
the
rifle
to
my
shoulder.
I
fired
one
shot,
and
the
creature
fell.
I
panned
the
light
around
to
make
sure
there
weren
’t
any
others.
Quinn
stood
next
to
me,
his
gun
cradled
in his
arms.

“Did
you
ever
in
your
wildest
imagination
believe
you
would
be
here?”

I
huffed.
“Sometimes
I
still
don’t
believe
it.
It
started
two
years
ago.
Just
two
years.”
I
angled
the
light
into
the
field
and
sat.
“It
all
seems
so long
ago.
Like
it
was
a
different
life.”

Quinn
turned
to
face
me
and
leaned
against
the
rail. “Yeah.”

I stared
at
him
for a
moment,
then
turned
in
my
seat
so
my
back
was
to
him.
The
heat
rose
in
my
face.
It drove me insane that
he
made
me
blush
and
my
stomach
flutter.
It
wasn
’t
as if
we
talked
about
anything
embarrassing.
I
hoped
he
didn’t
notice.
It
really
bothered
me
that
he
affected
me
like
that.
I
wondered
if
Mom
went
through
the
same
thing
when
she’d
met
Dad.
My
mind
drifted
to
the
day
Mom
was
killed.
I
would
have
assumed
that
after
so
long
I
could
forgive
them,
or
at
least
understand
why
they
did
what
they
did. As I
stared
out
into
the
black
field,
I
hated
them more. If
they
were
still
alive, I
wouldn
’t
be
in
this
mess.
I’d
be
someplace
safe
without
a
crazy
second
cousin
trying
to
control
my
life.
I
lowered
my
head.

I
thought
about
Pearl
and
wondered
how
she
was
doing.
I
thought
about
Tanya.
I
was
actually
surprised
that
Tanya
even
entered
my
musings.
I
hadn
’t
given
her
a
second
thought
since
she’d
quit
talking
to
me in
Florida.
I
remembered
how
much
it
angered
me
that
she
didn
’t
want
to
talk
about
the
zombies.
How
could
someone
ignore
the
apocalyptic
nature
of
the
situation?
Life
could
get
better,
it
could
change,
but
we
had
to
change
it.
If
they
wanted
to live
in their
bubble,
what
did
I
care?
I
was
doing what
I
wanted.
I
didn
’t
need
to
concern
myself with
them.

Quinn
shifted
behind
me
and
pulled
me
out
of
my
thoughts.
He
shone
the
spotlight
on
a
few
more
zombie
intruders.
He
dispatched
the
menace,
then
turned
back
to
stare
into darkness.
I
wou
ld’
ve
liked
to
talk
to
him,
to
get
to
know
him
better,
but
I
didn
’t
know
what
to
say.
I
was
curious
about
his
family,
but
I’d
learned
in
Florida
that
you
don
’t
ask
about
anyone
’s
parents.
If
they
didn’t
bring
them
up,
they
were
probably
dead,
and
they
more
than
likely
didn’t
want
to
relive
that
day.
I
knew
I
didn’t
want
to
talk
about
mine.
We
occasionally
glanced at
each
other
and
smiled,
but
otherwise
it
was
a
quiet
night.

The
next
morning
we
met
up
with
Bill
and
Kyle.
After a
quick
breakfast
and
shower,
I
headed
to
bed.
I
wasn
’t
sure
how
long
I
slept,
but
when
I
awoke,
I
heard
the
guys
talking
softly
in
the
living
room.

“It’s
tragic,”
I
heard
Bill
saying.
“There
is
no
reason
for
people
to
live
like
this.”

“It’s
like
a
concentration
camp,”
Kyle
chimed
in.

“Oh,
I
doubt
it’s
that
bad,”
Quinn
said.

“Okay,
that’s
exaggerating,
but
it’s
not
good.
A
lot
of
these
people
are
starving.
Last
night
alone
we
saw
three
people
beaten
in
the
street
by
the
soldiers
for
god
knows
what
reason.”