Life After The Undead (Book 1) (98 page)

Liet
stumbled backward
in surprise,
the
bat
falling
from
his
hand.
He
stared
at
his
stomach,
then
glanced
back
at
me.
His
face
turned
red
and
his
lips
pursed
into
a
line.
With a
shout,
he
charged
me.
I
spun
out
of
the
way
and
arched
my
sword
through
the
air.
I
flipped
the
blade
closed,
and
the
metal
contacted
with
the
back
of
his
skull.
His
body
moved
a
few
more
steps
forward,
then
he
collapsed
onto
the
floor.

My
knees
gave
out.
Blood
leaked
from
the
bullet
wound
in
my
shoulder,
and
my
arm
was
on
fire. My
eye
was
blurry
from
Lie
t’s
punch,
and
I
felt
every
scratch
on
my
face.
Sweat
dripped
from
my
nose,
and
my
breathing
came in
rasps.
A
soft
moan
caused
me
to
jerk
my
head
upward.
The
woman
who’d
attacked
me
earlier
was
coming
to.
I
forced
myself
to
stand
.
If
she
wanted
to
attack
me
again,
I
was
going
to
make
sure
that
was
the last
thing
she
did. She
sat
up
groggily
and
covered
the
lump
on
her
head.
When
she
saw
me,
her
eyes
filled
with
fear
and
she
backed
away.
I
watched
her
leave
the
room
before grabbing
Lie
t’s
arm.
I
dragged
him
to
the
jury
box
and
handcuffed
him
to
the
heat
register.
When
I
was
sure
he
was
secure,
I
went
to
join
the
others.

Gunshots
echoed
through
the
buildings,
and
people
ran
toward
the
wall.
I joined
the
group.
They
had
the
majority
of the
soldiers
cornered
in
their
towers.
They fired
into
the
crowd.
A
few
workers
fell,
but
most
of
them
took
shelter
behind
the
building
supplies
and
in
the
houses.
I saw
Quinn
and
company
behind
a pile
of
concrete barriers.
I
fell
to
the
ground
next
to
him,
out
of
breath
and
fighting
to
stay
conscious.

“Krista!”
He
grabbed
my
arms
and
helped
me
sit
up.
“Are
you
all
right?”

I
winced.
“Yeah.
Liet
is
chained
up
in
the
courthouse.”

“Do
you
have
the
key?”

I
leaned
back
so
I
could
reach
into
my
pocket.
“What
are
you
going
to
do?”

“Maybe
if
we
bring
him
out
here,
we
can
get
the
others
to
stop
firing.”
He
grabbed
the
key
from
my
hand
and
then
took
off
running
toward
the courthouse.

A bullet
whizzed
over
the
barrier
while
another
smashed
into
the
concrete
above
my
head.
Dust
drifted
into
my
eyes,
and
I
ducked
farther
down.
A
worker
approached
and
handed
me
a
magazine.
I
nodded
my
thanks,
and
he
focused
his
gaze
and
the
barrel
of
his
weapon
on
the
guards
in
the
tower.
I
unholstered
my
weapon
before I slid
the
magazine
in,
waiting
for
an
opportunity
to fire,
but
my
shoulder
ached
so
bad
I
wasn
’t
sure
I
could
hold
my
gun
up.
The
guy
next
to
me
popped
over
the
barricade
and
fired
a
couple
shots
before
squatting
back
down.
I
glanced
toward
the
courthouse.

Quinn
returned
with
Liet
a
few
minutes
later
.
Liet’s
hands
were
cuffed
behind
his back,
and
Quinn
had
attached
a
chain
around
his
neck.
He led
Liet like
a
dog
on a
leash.
As
they
came
closer,
I
saw
Lie
t’s
desperation
to
get
away.
He
dodged
to
the
right
in an
attempt
to
break
free
of
Quinn
’s
grasp,
but
Quinn
jerked
the
chain
and
pulled
him
back
in
line.
He
wrapped
the
chain
around
his
hand
to
shorten
it
and
placed
the
barrel
of
his
gun
against
Liet’s
head.
He
marched
him
past
the
safety
of
the
concrete
and
into
the
line
of
fire.

“Hold
your
fire!
Hold
your
fire!”  A
voice
rose
above
the
blasts
of
the
guns.

I picked
myself
up
and
looked
over the
barrier.
Pam
walked
from
the
tower. She
stopped
a
few
feet in
front
of
the
pair,
her
gun
pointing
at
the
ground.

“Drop
your
weapons,”
Quinn
shouted.

“Don
’t
you
listen
to
him,”
Liet
said.

Quinn
pulled
the
chain
so
tight
Liet
had
to
arch
his
back
to
be
able
to
breathe.
“If
you
don
’t
drop
your
weapons,
I
will
shoot
the
general.”
He
cocked
the
hammer
on
his
gun.

Pam
dropped
her
gun.
The
other
soldiers
followed
suit.