Life After The Undead (Book 2): Death to the Undead (13 page)

For whatever
reason,
Quinn insisted on
going
in
before
me. I
think it
was
some
type
of
chivalric
display,
which
was
flattering,
but
I
could
take
care
of myself.
However,
since
I
didn’t think we
were
going
to run into
any
zombies,
I
didn’t mind being
at
the
back.
It
gave
me
a
chance
to
relax
a
little.
When we
were
15
steps
into the
cave,
I
grabbed
the
back
of
his shirt.
He
spun around
quickly,
shining
his
light
into
my
eyes.

“What?”
he
hissed. “What’s
wrong?”

I
pushed the
beam
out of my
face
as
I
holstered
my
gun,
stepping
closer to
Quinn. I
wrapped
my
arm
around
his
neck.

“Nothing,”
I
said in the
sexiest whisper I
could
muster.
“I
just
thought
we
could
spend
a
little alone
time.”

I
saw the
smile on his
face before
he
wrapped
his
arms
around
my
waist
and
directed
the
light behind me.
His lips
connected
with
mine,
and
we
kissed
in the
dark
for
a
while. I
wished
the
moment
wouldn’t
end.
I
liked
being
with him,
feeling
his lips and the
heat
from
his
body.
I
liked
not having
to worry
about
zombies or
helicopters
or crazy
families from
Florida.
I
was
just
about
to lose
myself
in the
moment,
to let
all
my
guards
down
and
relax,
when
a
hissing
sound
echoed
through
the
cave.
We
pulled
away
at
the
same
time.
We
still
held
onto
each
other,
but our
heads
were
cocked
to opposite
sides,
listening.

The
hiss
sounded
again,
a
long
release
of air
with
a
slight
whistle
to it, as if
coming
from
between
someone’s
teeth.
It
was
followed
by
a
rock
clunking
onto the
floor
and
a
shuffling
sound.
Quinn
turned
and
shone
the
flashlight
down the hall. I
directed
my
light
back
the
way
we
came,
hoping
it was just one of
the
others
who
had
gotten
lost.
Unfortunately,
I
didn’t see
anything.
I
stepped
back
so
I
was
in
contact
with Quinn
and
pulled
my
gun
out.

“Do
you
see
anything?”
I
asked
over
my
shoulder.

“No. But
let’s
keep moving
forward.”

I
turned
and
placed
my
hand on the small of his
back,
my
head
bent
to the side
so
I
could
see
around
his
body.
The
hiss
sounded
again,
followed
by
the
shuffling,
then
followed
by
a
grunt
and
a
click.
Was it
an
animal?
It
had
to be.
There was
no
way
a
zombie
could
get
in
here.
No
way.
We
continued
forward.

The
cave
narrowed
and
turned
to the
right.
Quinn
pressed
himself
against
the
wall
and
shone
his light
around
the
corner.
I
couldn’t
see what
was there,
but
from
the
way
he
jerked
his
light
back,
I
knew it wasn’t
good.
He
illuminated
himself
and
signaled
for
me
to
press
against
the wall.
Scowling,
I
did as
I
was told,
and
he
moved
around
the
corner. The
crack
of the
gun
was
deafening. Instantly,
my
ears
rang
and
felt numb.
I
opened
and
closed
my
jaw, hoping
the motion would help
me
hear
again.
It
didn’t
work.
Quinn
grabbed
my
arm
and
pulled
me
around
the
wall.

I
saw something
in his
beam,
what
looked
like
a
human
crumpled
on
the
ground.
As
we
drew closer,
Quinn
slowed.
He
shone
his
light
down the
tunnel
before
toeing
the
corpse
in front of
us.
It
didn’t
move,
so
he
stepped
over
it. I
lingered, shining
my
light on the
body.
It
was a
woman,
with long
black
hair
that
hung
in
greasy
clumps. Her
face
was
ashen,
her
cheeks
sunken in.
Her
lips
were
pulled
back, making
it
appear
as
if she
had a
permanent
snarl. She
wore
a
dark
gray
suit and purple
shirt. The
clothes
weren’t
all
that
tattered,
just a little
dirty
with a
few
tears, and
all
of the
exposed skin
seemed
to be
intact.
She
hadn’t
been
undead for
long.
The
bullet
hole
entered
just
below
her
left
eye,
discontinuing
her
endless
and
pointless walk on the
earth.
I
stepped
over
her
and
followed
Quinn.

We
continued
through
to
the
end
of
the tunnel.
It
took us
forever.
Wandering
around in the
dark
with no
way
to look
at
your
watch
or
figure
out how far
you’ve
walked
is a
bit
disconcerting.
I
thought
for
sure
we’d be
trapped
in the
mountain
for
the
rest
of our
lives.
I
was
just
about
to
open
my
mouth
and
say
something
when
I
felt
a
cool
breeze.
The
tunnel also
seemed
to
get
lighter.

I
had
my
hand
on the small of
Quinn’s
back,
and
I
pushed
up to
my
tiptoes, hoping to look
over
his
shoulder.

“Hey,
calm down,”
he
called
to
me.
“I
don’t
want
to
rush
out
there
without knowing
what we’re
getting
into.”