Life After The Undead (Book 2): Death to the Undead (16 page)

“There’s
something
down
there.”
Quinn’s
voice
was
soft,
whispered
close
to
my
ear.

I
tore
my
gaze from
Tanya
and
turned
to look
at
him.
“Where?”

“Down
the hill
from
where
we
killed the
zombies. I
did a
quick
reconnaissance,
and
I
saw a
chain
link
fence
and
some
buildings. They’re
hidden in the
trees.
I
think
after
we
warn the
people
in
Casper,
before
we
head to
Florida,
we
need
to check it out.”

“What
are
we
going
to
do
about
Florida?”

“I
don’t
know, Krista. I
just
don’t
know.
We
need to
give
it a little
time, though.
Let
things
settle
down.
They’re
expecting an
attack
now, some
type
of
retaliation.
We
need
to
draw
it out, let
things
calm
down, then
we’ll
make
our
move.”

I
was
so
glad
he
didn’t
say
anything
about
attacking
Florida at
the
same time
as
North
Platte.
That
drove
me
crazy.
We
both knew that
was
the
best
plan,
but it
wouldn’t
have
worked. First
of
all,
we
didn’t have
enough
people.
Secondly,
the
workers
in Nebraska
wouldn’t
have
been
able
to hold out long
enough.
If
we
hadn’t
done
something,
they
might have
taken
Liet
out on
their
own.
Where
would
that
have left
us? I
wasn’t
looking
for
glory
or
recognition,
but
there
was a
personal
vendetta
against
Liet
I
needed to fulfill. I
knew
the
workers
were
more
than
capable
of
fending
for
themselves,
but Quinn and
I
knew the
West.
However,
they
might have
made
it without us.

Maybe
I
looked
at
it from the
wrong
perspective.
Maybe
we
should have
let
them
stage
their
own
coup.
I’m
sure
they
would have
eventually.
They
were
being
pushed
to the
breaking
point.
Then,
I
wouldn’t
have
gotten
shot, and
Quinn
and
I
could’ve
disappeared
at
his
ranch.
We
would be
worry
and
stress
free. But
no
one
else
would.
I
mentally
shrugged.
What did it
matter? Things
had
already
happened,
and
I
couldn’t
change
the
situation.

A pounding
resounded
in
the
distance.
I
lifted
my
head
slightly
and
glanced
over
the
fire
toward
the
semis.
It
sounded
like
someone
slammed
a
door.
Someone
probably
forgot
something
in the
truck,
so
I
laid my
head
back
down
and
attempted
to
get
comfortable.
Then, it
happened
again.
A little
louder.

“Is
someone
playing
in
the
trucks?”
I
asked Quinn.
I
looked
at
him.

He
stared
toward
the
trucks,
too,
squinting
into the
darkness.
The
pounding
sounded twice
more,
followed
by
a
metal
on
metal
scrape.
Quinn
jumped
from
his
seat,
dropping
me
onto my
side.

“Oh,
crap!
I
think
that’s
the
truck
Liet
is in.”

I
scrambled
to
my
feet
as
Quinn
ran
ahead.
As
I
came
around
the
front
of
the
semi,
the
driver’s
side
door
was
open.
Quinn was inside,
glancing
into the
sleeper
cabin.
He
pulled
his
gun
out of the
holster
and
jumped
from
the
cab.

“I
need
backup!”
he
yelled.

My
heart skipped a
beat,
my
throat
tightened.
This
couldn’t
be
happening.
How
would he
have
gotten
out?
He
was
drugged with sleeping
pills. He
was cuffed to a
bar
on the
inside.
The
door
was
locked.
I
willed
myself
to
fly,
hoping
I
was in a
pain-pill-induced
dream.

Nothing.
My
feet
remained
planted
on the
ground.
I
wasn’t
dreaming.

Several
others
surrounded us,
their
hands
on
their
hips,
wondering what
was
going
on. Quinn
grabbed
his
flashlight
off
his
belt.
He
clicked
it on
and
illuminated
the
ground. Footprints
led away
from the
truck,
into the
trees,
and
Quinn
followed
after
them.

“What’s
going
on?”
Pam
wondered.
She
stood
right
next to me.

“Liet
got
out.” The
words
caught
in
my
throat. I
had
to choke
them out, unable
and
unwilling
to believe
I
had
to say
them.

Without a
word,
Pam
disappeared
behind
me.
She
re-emerged
a
few
seconds
later
with
a
rifle
and
another
flashlight.
She
took off
after
Quinn.
I
didn’t know
what
to do. I
stood next to the
truck,
my
mouth hanging
open.
The
pills dulled
my
senses, made
it
hard
to think, so
my
reactions
were
slow. I
couldn’t just stand
there.
I
had
to
help.
I
moved to
take
off
after
them,
but
someone
grabbed
my
arm. I
turned
to
see
Tanya.

“What
are
you
doing?”
she
asked.

“I...I
have
to find him. We
can’t
let
him go.”

She
released
her
grip
and
nodded
toward
my
sling.
“You
can’t
go
into the
woods
with
your
arm like
that.
The
ground
is
uneven,
what
happens
if
you
trip?”

“I’ll
be
fine.”

“No,
you
won’t.
You need to
leave
it to
them.”

Lydia
and
Chester
approached
at
that
moment,
wondering
what
happened.
Tanya
explained the situation,
and
they
turned
to the
others. They
organized a
group
and
headed
into the
woods
after
Pam
and Quinn.
Tanya
led
me
back
to the
fire
and
sat me
down.
If
I
had
full
control
of
my
senses,
I
would have
protested.
I
would have
jerked
out her
grasp
and
headed
into the
trees.
I
knew it
wasn’t
a
good
idea. I
would be
useless,
but
I
loathed not
being
able
to help. I
hated
waiting
for
news. But
she
was
right.
I
wouldn’t be
any
help.
If
Liet
sensed
my
weakness,
he
could
use
me
against
the
others.
What
if he
took me
hostage?
What
if
he
took the
opportunity
to kill
me?
Quinn,
Pam,
and the
others
were
more
than
capable,
they
could
handle
it. They
had
to.