Life After The Undead (Book 1) (52 page)

“What
do
you
know
about
Quinn and
his
group?”

Pam
took
a
bite
and
shrugged.
“Not much.
They
live
somewhere
in
the
West
and
were
the
only
ones to
answer
our
request
for help.”

“What
are
they
working
for?”

“I
don’t
know.
Why?”

I
glanced
down
and
picked
at
an
imaginary
dot on
the
tabletop.
“Just
curious.
Liet
expects
me
to
work
with
them
and
resupply
the
country.
I
wanted
some
information
about
them
before
we
went
out
again.”

Pam
set
her
apple
down
and
leaned
forward.
“Are
you
afraid
they
’l
l
try
to
harm
you?”

“Pfft,
no!
I
can
take
care
of
myself.”

“I know
you
can.
I
wanted
to
make
sure.”
She
leaned
back
in
her
seat
and
took
another
bite.

I picked
at
the
spot
again. “Do
you
like
being
here?”
I
glanced
at
Pam
out
of
the
corner
of
my
eye.

Pam
snorted.
“If
you
’r
e
asking
whether
I’
d
rather
be
here
or
back
home
with
my
family,
without
the
threat
of
zombies,
I
think
you
know
the
answer
to
that.”

I
pulled
my
hands
onto
my
lap
and
hunched
my
shoulders.
“Of course
we
’d
all
rather
live
in
a
world
without
zombies
, but
we
can’t
change
the
circumstances.
Since
you
’r
e
stuck
here,
do
you
like
it?”

Pam
frowned.
“I
wouldn
’t
call
it
a
matter
of
like
or
dislike
. It’s
just
how
it
is.
Like
you
said,
you
can
’t
change
the
circumstances.”

“Yeah,
but
if
you
had
a
choice,
where
would
you
go?”

“I
don’t
know.
What
are
you
getting
at?
Why
are
you
asking
me
this?”

I
leaned
forward
and
lowered
my
voice. “What
about
the
workers?
  Did
they
choose
to
be
here?”

Pam
narrowed
her
eyes
and
leaned
forward.
“Some
of
them.”

“What
does
that
mean?”

“Just
what
I
said. Some
of
them
volunteered
and
others,
well,
they
didn’t
have
a
choice.”

A
million
more
questions
raced
through
my
mind,
and
I
wondered
if
I
really wanted
to
know
the
answers.
I
hadn
’t
really
thought
about
the
workers
and
their
lives,
but
I
decided
I
needed
to
pay
more
attention.

We
stared
at
each
other
for a
moment.
Pam
waited
for
me
to
ask
more
questions,
I
could
tell
by
the
look
on
her
face.
I
finally
sat back
and
folded
my
hands
across
my
chest.

“I’m
leaving
tomorrow.
I
have
to
fill
up
two
more
trucks.”
I
stood
and
headed
out
the
door.

“Hey,
Krista.”

I
turned
around.

Pam
hesitated.
The
look
on
her
face
told
me
she
wanted
to
tell
me
something. It
was
a
look
of
pain
and
sadness.
Her
forehead
wrinkled
and
her
eyes
glistened
with
tears,
but
all
she
said
was,
“Good
luck.”

I forced a smile
and
headed
to
the
apartment.

***

The
guys
and I
left
early
the
next
morning.
My
stomach
fluttered
with
excitement.
We
were
going
back
to
Casper,
but
Quinn
said
he’d
take
me a
different
way,
let me
see
the
countryside.
I
packed
a
few
more
weapons,
just
in
case
we
ran
into
trouble,
and
stocked
up
on
ammunition.
I
climbed
into
the
passenger
seat
of
the
truck
and
glanced
out
the
window.
Liet
stood
in
front
of
the
courthouse
with
his
hands
on
his
hips.
I
stared
at
him,
and
he
waved
as
we
pulled
away.

The
trucks
drove
through
the
gates
and
onto the
highway.
After
we
were a
few
miles
down
the
road,
I
cracked
my
window
and sucked in
a
deep
breath of
air.

“Smell
that?”
I
asked.

Quinn
wrinkled
his
nose.
“No.
What
am
I
supposed
to
smell?”

“Nothing.”

He
smiled. “Yeah.
I
do. Smells
great.”

I took
another
breath.
“Yes,
it does.”  I
sat
quietly
for
a
moment.
“You
know,
it’s
weird,
how
you
get
used
to
something
and
don’t
even
realize
it
until
you
’r
e
away
from
it.”
I
turned
to
Quinn.
“Take
for
example
the
smell
of
the
fire.
It
never
bothered
me in all
the
months
I’v
e
lived
in
North
Platte.
Then
you
come
along
and
point
out
how
putrid it
really
is.
Now,
I can
barely
stand
it.
Why
do
you
think
that
is?”