Life After The Undead (Book 2): Death to the Undead (12 page)

We
pulled
into town
and
jumped
down
from
the
cab.
Several
inhabitants
approached
us, trying
not to complain
about
the
situation
but
wondering what
was
going
on.

Quinn
placed
his
hands
in
his
back
pockets
and spit on the
ground
before
speaking.
A smile
spread
across his
lips, it
irritated
some
of
the
others.

“I
guess
I
forgot
to tell
you
the
best
part
about
Dashton.”

He
walked
to
a
decrepit
building
built next to the
mountain
face.
He
pulled
open
the door
and
it
clattered
onto the
ground.
A
crowd
formed
around
him, arms
crossed
over
their
chests
and
eyebrows
furrowed.
I
stood
right
next him,
trying
to
figure
out
what
he was doing.
He
stepped
across the
small
room
to the
wall
at
the
back.

With a
fist,
he
pounded
on the gray
wood.
It
fell
over
with a
creak,
stirring
up a
cloud
of dust as it
slammed
onto the
floor.
I
blinked
to
get
the
dirt out of
my
eyes,
then
noticed
the opening
in the
rock.
I
smiled.
I
knew
exactly
where
it led.
It
was just like
Quinn’s
house.

There
were
tunnels and rooms
scattered
throughout the
mountain.
Not only
would it be
relief
from
the
elements,
but it would be
definite
protection
from
Florida
and the zombies. I
looked
at
the
crowd.
Their
mouths hung
open
in
shock.

“We
can
work
on
getting
the
buildings
habitable
until
the snow
comes.
The
caves
will be
a
temporary
home
until
that
is
done.”
He
nodded
into the
darkness.
“I
doubt
there’s
anything
in
there,
but
we’d
better
do
a
sweep
just
in
case.
You have
your
flashlight?”

I
grabbed
the
flashlight
off
my
belt,
and
I
pulled
the
gun
out of
the
holster
on
my
hip. Six
of us
headed
in.

Several
others
wanted
to
go,
but we
didn’t
want
too many
people
in
there.
It
was
going
to be dark, sounds
were
going
to
echo,
and
no one
wanted
to
get
accidentally
shot.
Having
the
other
four in
there
with us made
me
nervous
enough,
I
didn’t know how itchy
their
trigger
fingers
were
.
I
knew
how to
clear
an
area
with Quinn, and
I
knew
he
wouldn’t
shoot
me.
But he
insisted.
The
network of
caves
was
large
with
several
tunnels
and offshoots; we
needed
several people
to
watch
our
backs. What
other
choice
did
I
have? I
relented.

I
took a
deep
breath
and
stepped
into the
cave.
The
air
was
cool,
and
dripping
water
echoed
through
the
space.
Our
flashlight
beams
bounced
off
the black
walls.
I
couldn’t
imagine
there
were
any
zombies in the
cave.

How
would
they
have
gotten
so
far
up the
mountain?
There
wasn’t a
food source
around.
I
imagined
one
of the
people
behind
me
being
overly
skittish, jumping
at every
sound
and
accidentally
shooting
one
of us. I
glanced
over
my
shoulder,
just in
case.

As
we
proceeded into the
cave,
it opened up into a
huge
room.
Seriously,
we
could
have
parked
three
semis
in
there
and
stacked
two
on top of
each
other.
There
were
several
other
caves
that led off
in
different
directions. As
I
shone
the
light
around,
I
counted
six. I
also
noticed
some
markings
on the
walls, blue
and
red
triangles.
They
were
faded,
but
I
knew
someone
put
them
there.
We
congregated
in the
middle of
the
room,
forming a
circle
per
Quinn’s
instructions.

“Some
of
these
tunnels
go
for
miles,”
he
whispered,
“but
they
come
out next to towns
and
cities. It’s
possible
a
zombie
could
have
fallen in and is
wandering
around.
You
need
to remain vigilant and
keep
your
eyes
and
ears
open.
The
tunnels marked with blue
triangles
lead
to
different
chambers,
rooms with no outlets. The
ones
marked
with
red
triangles
lead
out.
There
are
three
that
lead
out. We
will
head
down in
teams
of two.
Check
your targets
before
firing. After
you’ve finished
your
search
and
headed
back,
go
outside.
You
don’t
need to
hang
out in the
cave.
We
don’t
need
anyone
getting
shot.
Understand?”

He
shined
his
light
in each of
our faces
and
we
nodded
our
understanding.
Quinn then
proceeded
to
give
us
each
our
assignment.
Naturally,
we
were
together. I
looked
forward
to being
in the
dark
with
him.
It
had
been
a
while
since
we
had
the
opportunity
to be
alone. Keeping
the
survivors
of
North
Platte happy
and
making sure
they
were
working
was
a
full-time
job. I
knew
exactly
why
Liet
was so
stressed
out
all
the
time.

As
we stepped
into the tunnel, the
walls
narrowed
and
the
ceiling got
lower.
If
I
stretched
my
arms
out to
the side, my
elbows
slightly
bent,
I
could
touch
both
walls.
I
could
barely
touch the
ceiling
with
my
head
by
standing
on
my
tiptoes.