Life After The Undead (Book 1) (86 page)

“Why
don
’t we
stay
one
more
day
before
we
take
the
trucks
to
North
Platte?
I
mean,
there
’s
no
rush to
get
the
stuff
back.
Liet
has
more
than
he
needs,
and
nothing
is
going
to Florida
for
two
weeks
anyway.”

I
nodded. “Okay.”

“Do
you
want
to
go
for
a ride?”

I
nodded
again.

It
was
noon
before
we
had
our
horses
saddled
and
trotting
down
to the
canyon
floor.
The
sun
was
warm
and
a
slight
breeze
blew,
but
I
didn
’t
find
comfort.
I
stopped
my
horse
at
the
end
of
the
canyon
before
we
entered
the
field.

“Quinn,
I’v
e
been
thinking.”

He
turned
in
his
saddle
so
he
faced
me.

“I
don’t
think
the
people
of North
Platte
have
a
few
months.
If we
’r
e
going
to
attack,
we
need
to
do
it
soon.”

“How
soon is
soon?”

“Within
the
next
few
weeks.”

“What
about
Florida,
though?
Once
word
gets
out
that
the
workers
of
North
Platte
have
rebelled,
they
’l
l
send
in
reinforcements.”

I
shook
my
head.
“I
don
’t
think
they
will.
I
think
they
’ll
insulate
themselves
even
more.
If
they
’re
concerned
with
keeping
order and
control,
this
will
give
them
more
reason
to
keep
people
in
the
state
and
in
line.
I
don’t
think
we
have
to
worry
about
them.”

“So
what
are
we
supposed
to
do
once
we
take
over
the
city?
We’re
still
grossly
outnumbered
by
zombies,
and
we
need
the
people
from
Florida
to
help
us
fight
them.”

“We
barter.
We
have
supplies
they
need,
and
they
have
the
people.
We’ll
work
out
a
trade.”

“And
if
that
doesn
’t
work?”

“It
has
to
work.
We
can
’t
keep
surviving
this
way.
We
have
to
take
our
country
back.”

“Okay.
Let
me
talk
to
the
others.
See
what
they
think.”

I
nodded,
then
nudged
my
horse
into
the
field.

We
stayed
out
until
the
sun
set,
then
headed
back
to
the
house.
I
was
exhausted
by
the
time
we
finished
dinner,
and
slowly
climbed
up
to
the
room. Quinn
called
the
others
to
the
house
to
talk
about
my
new
plan.
I
hoped
they’d
agree
to
it,
but
if they
didn’t,
I
was
going
to
take
matters
into
my
own
hands.
It
wouldn
’t
be
easy,
but
I
was
sure
I
could
convince
some
of the
wo
rker
s
to
rebel.
We
had
the
weapons
and
ammunition
in
North
Platte
. It
was
just a matter
of
getting them
into
the
right
hands.
After
Wilks,
I
knew
if
we
procrastinated
any
longer,
it
might
be
too
late.
We
had
to
act.
I
pulled
the
blankets
up
to
my
chin
and
drifted
to
sleep.

Quinn
woke
me
up
a
few
hours
later.

“Sorry,”
he
whispered
as he
knelt
on
the
floor.
“The
others
agree
with
you.
They
think
if
we
wait
too
much
longer,
either
the
zombies
will
destroy
the
workers
or
Liet
will.
We’ll
try
to
attack
in
two
weeks.”

I
smiled.
Quinn
kissed
me
on
the
forehead,
and
I
drifted
back
to
sleep.

***

I
awoke
refreshed
and
optimistic
the
next
morning.
I
heard
Quinn
in
the
kitchen,
making
breakfast,
so
I
pulled
on
some
clothes
before
joining
him.
After a
meal
of
eggs,
bacon,
and
toast,
we
took
the
horses
out
for
a
ride.
The
rising
sun
bathed
the
valley
in soft
hues
of
yellow
and
orange.
The
sound
of
lowing
cows
filled
the
air,
and
the
scent
of
wet
grass
tickled
my
nose.
My
horse
was
content
at a
steady
trot,
and
we
headed
to the
creek.
We
dismounted
and
tied
the
horses
to
a
tree.

I
found
a
spot
on
the
bank
in
the
sand
and
took
a
seat.
Quinn
laid
his
head
on
my
lap. I
ran
my
fingers
through
his
hair.

“Just think,”
I
said,
“someday
this
will
be a
daily
occurrence,
not
a
fleeting
moment.”

Quinn
looked
up
at
me.
“I
can
’t
wait.”

I kissed
him
gently
on
the
forehead
before
leaning
back
on
my
elbows.

We
stayed
in
the
shade
until
noon,
then
headed
to
the
house
for
a
quick
lunch.
After
we
finished,
we
got
ready
to
drive
to
North
Platte.