Life After The Undead (Book 1) (96 page)

Hands
and
heads
poked
through
the
soft
earth,
and
I
looked
around
in
horror.
I
grabbed
the
man
by
the
arm
and
jerked
him
to
his
feet.

“Get in
the
Jeep!”
I
ran
back
to
my
vehicle
and
climbed
into
the
passenger
seat.

Bodies
bounced
out
of
the
ground
as
the
springs
were
activated.
It
literally
rained corpses.
Several
of
them
hit
the
Jeep
with
the
vast
majority
landing
back
in the
field.
As
soon
as
they
could
get
on
their
feet,
we
were
going
to be
surrounded
by
hundreds
of
zombies.
The
Jeep
in
front
took
off
like
a
rocket,
and
Quinn
followed
behind
them.
Several
creatures
smashed
into
the
side
of
the
vehicle
and
were
crushed
under
the
tires.
It
only
took
us a
few
minutes
to
outrun
them,
but
no
one
drew
an
easy
breath
until
the
zombies
were
spots
on
the
horizon.

“Oh, my
god,”
I
breathed.
“He
buried
zombies
instead
of
mines.”

“Well,”
Quinn
commented,
“it’d
definitely
deter
someone
from approaching
on
foot.”

I
chuckled, trying to relieve the stress that tensed my muscles. I was just beginning to calm down
when
four
small
bangs
resounded
and
Quinn
slammed
on
the
brakes,
cursing
under
his
breath.
I
looked
out
the
windshield
as
the
front
Jeep
skidded
to
a
crooked
stop.
All
of
the
tires
were
flat. How did that happen? I
looked
out
my
window
at the
ground.
Barely
visible
under
the
dirt,
twinkling
like
glitter
in the
sun,
was
buried
razor
wire.
I
looked
at
Quinn.

“And
that
would
deter
anyone
from approaching
in
a
vehicle.”

The
people
from
the
first
Jeep
piled
into
the
back
of Quinn
’s.
We
crept
across
the
razor
wire.
We
made
it
through,
but
had
to
change
two
of
the
tires. Thank
goodness
Liet
was
shorthanded. If
he
had
guards
in
the
tower,
we
would
have
been
dead
in
the
zombie
field.
If
they
really
wanted
to
toy
with
us,
they
cou
ld’v
e
shot
us
while
we
changed
the
tires.

“What
else
do
you
think
he
has in
store
for
us?”

“I
don’t
want
to
know,”
Quinn
replied.

The
caravan
drove
for
thirty
minutes
before
we
encountered
Liet’s
next
obstacle.
The
field
before
us
was
strewn
with
pike fences,
razor
-
wire
fences,
and
zombies
tied
to
stakes.
We
stopped
on
top of
a hill
and
surveyed
the
area.

“Well,
I
can
tell
you
right
now
we
’r
e
never
going
to
get
the
Jeeps
through
there.”
Quinn sighed
with
exasperation.

“Then
we
hoof
it,”
I
said.
“We
didn
’t
come
this
far
to
turn
back
now.”
  I
turned
to
the
others.
“Grab as
much
ammo
as
you
can
carry,
and
make
sure
you
have
something
to
chop
the
zomb
ies’
heads
off.”
I
headed
to
the
trunk
of
the
vehicle
to
grab
supplies.

As I
loaded
extra
magazines
into
my
belt,
someone
gently
touched
my
arm.
I
looked
at
the
man
who
’d
been
on
top
the
Jeep.

“I’m
afraid
I’m
not
going
to
make
it
to
North
Platte
with
you,”
he
said
softly.

I
placed my hands on my hips.
“Why?”

He held
up
his
arm
and
showed
me
the
bite
wound.
I
sighed
and
looked
at
him
with
sympathy.
My hands fell from my waist. I
opened
my
mouth
to
speak,
but
I
didn’t
know
what
to
say.

“I’m
glad
I
could
make
it
this
far,”
the
man
said.
“Good
luck.”

Before
I
could
speak,
he
headed
over
the
hill.
I
felt
nauseous
when
I
heard
the
gun
shot,
but
it
was
the best
way
for
him
to
go.
I
gave
him
a
moment
of
silence,
and
in my
mind,
thanked
him
for
his
sacrifice.
I
took
a
deep
breath
and
focused
on
what
lay
ahead.
We
still
had
a
job
to
do.
I
finished
loading
up
with
supplies.

We
stood
at
the
top
of
the
hill
as a
group
and
looked
down
at
the
obstacle.
We
turned
to
each
other,
nodding our
readiness,
and
headed
into
the
field.
The
first
things
at
the
bottom
of
the
hill
were
pikes set
together
in
an
X-shape
with
barbed
wired
running
between
the
Xs.
They
were
too
close
together
to
step
over
or
slide
under,
so
we
had
to
cut
them.
Zombies
were
tied
with
leashes
right
behind
the
wire,
and
they
strained
to
get
at
us.
Their
moans
reached
deafening levels.
We
cleared
a
spot,
and
Quinn
got
to
work
cutting
the
wire.
After
he
finished,
we
moved
through
the
fence
one
at
a
time.
Those
who
went
through
first
took
care
of
the
next
wave
of
creatures,
taking
down
as many
of
the
undead
as
they
could.

The
next
level
of the
field
was
a
ditch
filled
with
muddy
water.
More
zombies
were
tied
to
stakes,
but
since
the
ground
was
so
soft,
some
of
them pulled
the
m
out
and
moved
toward
us.
We
gathered
into
a
group,
our
backs
to
each
other,
and
moved
through
the
water
as
a
circle.
We
fired
as
the
walking
dead came
near
us,
trying
to
conserve
as
much
ammo
as
possible.
Someone
behind
me
screamed,
and
I
glanced
over
my
shoulder. A
zombie
latched
on to
her
thigh,
and
blood
soaked
through
her
jeans.
She
pounded
on
the
creature
with
the
butt
of
her
gun,
but
it
didn’t
let
go.
I
turned
to
fire,
but
the
group
kept
moving,
pushing
my
arms
up
and
out
of
the
way.

“She’s
gone,”
someone
shouted.
“Keep
moving.”

I
turned
to
face
the
next
onslaught
of
undead.
I
fired
until
my
magazine
ran
dry.
I
went
to
grab
another,
but
my
belt
was
empty.
I
holstered
the
gun
and
flipped
out
my
arm
swords. Several
others
ditched
their
guns
and
grabbed
their
blades.
The
final
part
of
the
field
was
razor
wire
stretched
taught
over
thorn
bushes. Zombies
were
strapped
in
laying
positions
under
the
wire.
They
reached
for
us,
slicing
their
arms
to
shreds
on
the
barbs.
We
stopped
and
surveyed
the
area.

“We’ll
have
to
use
them
as
stepping
stones,”
Quinn
said.

My
heart
leapt
into
my
throat.
I
wasn
’t
about
to
step
on
a
zombie. “What?”

“We
kill
them
first,
then
we
use
them
as
stepping
stones.
If
we
go
one
at
a
time,
we
’l
l
be
fine.”

He
stepped
onto
the
chest
of
the
creature
closest
to
him
and
whacked
off
its
head.
Unsteadily,
he
went
to
the
next
and
repeated.
I
followed
him,
watching
my
footing
and
the
creatures
next
to
me.
One
of
them
grabbed
my
ankle,
almost
throwing
me
off
balance
and
into
the
razors,
but I
steadied
myself.
I chopped off the hand, and then continued on.

We
made
it
through
the
field
and
up
a
small
hill.
I
collapsed
onto
the
ground,
panting.
I
thought
we
’d
be in
North
Platte
by
noon,
but
after
running
the
gauntlet,
it
was
early
evening.

“Maybe
we
should
camp
here
for
the
night.
Finish
the
siege
in
the
morning.”

Quinn
lay
next
to
me
and
scanned
the
area
with
the
binoculars.
After
he
was
done,
he
handed
them
to
me.
I rolled
over
and
put
them
up
to
my
eyes,
scanning
the
fence
and
guard
towers.
My
arms
were
so
tired
they
shook
under
the
weight
of
the
glasses.
Nothing.
We
’d
be
able
to
get
into
the
city
undetected.
From
there
we
had
to
make
it to
the
storage
yard,
get
the
guns,
and
hand
them out
to
the
workers. Easy.

“Looks like
fortune is
on
our
side,”
I
whispered.

Quinn
smiled.
“It’s
about
time.”

“You
remember
which
storage
shed
I
told
you
the
weapons
were
in,
right?”

He
nodded.

“Okay.
See
you
soon.”
  I
gave
Quinn
a
quick
kiss
before
heading into
the
city.

I
cautiously
walked
down
the
street,
but
I
didn
’t
try
to
hide.
No
one
knew
I
was
there,
so
I
wasn
’t
expecting
to
get
caught.
I
walked
right
into
the
courthouse
without
any
problems.
Outside
of
Liet’s
door, I
pulled
my
gun
out
of
the
holster.
What good was it going to do me? I had no bullets. Granted, he didn’t know that. Hopefully the threat alone would be enough to get Liet to do what I wanted. I
hesitated
for
a
moment,
then
kicked
the
door
open.
He
sat
behind
his desk
and
jumped
at
the
sound.
He
reached
for his
weapon.