Life After The Undead (Book 2): Death to the Undead (43 page)

Liet
smiled.
“I
guess
we’ll
figure
that
hurdle
out
when
we
get
to it.”

I
had
half
an
inclination to flip the
rest
of
my
water
at
him, then
throw
the
bottle, but
I
knew if
I
did, he’d take
water
away
from me
completely. Eventually,
I’d
need
my
strength.
And
I
read
before
that
dying from
dehydration
was
a horrible
way
to perish. Even
more
torturous
than
having
to
spend
days in a
car
with
Liet.
If
nothing
else,
I
could
pee
my
pants.
Yeah, it’d be
miserable,
but
it
would
make
Liet
miserable
too. I
wasn’t
completely
defeated.

CHAPTER
13

It
took us four
days to
get
to
Florida.
And
trust
me,
they
were
the
longest, most
intolerable
days
ever!
Nice
Liet
was
present
for
the trip.
That
helped
a
little. He
even
let me pee
on
my
own.
However,
he
never
untied
my
feet,
and
I
only
had one
hand
to undo
my
pants.
It
would
have
been
better
if
I
peed
my
pants.

We
ate
and
slept
in the Hummer, so every
muscle
in
my
body
ached.
My
shoulder
was
the worst of
everything,
and
I
was
concerned
it
wouldn’t heal
properly. Liet’s
tackle didn’t
help.
I
needed
a
doctor,
peace
of mind, but who knew if
Liet
would let me
see one.
I
could’ve
played
nice,
pretended
like
I
wanted
to
be
a
family
again,
then
I’m
sure I
could’ve
asked for a
checkup,
but
I
couldn’t
do
it.
Just
the
thought
of it made
my
skin
crawl
and
my
stomach
cramp.
He
didn’t
deserve
my
worst
acting
skills.

All the
pain
and
anguish
I
felt
over
Quinn’s
death
hardened
into hate
and
revenge
and
settled
into the
center
of
my
chest. I
didn’t
care
about
compassion
or
how
future
generations
would
look at me,
I
wanted
Liet
dead.
And
I
wanted
to kill him.

I
sat uncomfortably
in the
seat,
attempting
to
take
a
nap.
What else
was
I
going
to do?
If
Liet
thought
I
was
asleep,
he
wouldn’t
talk
to me. I
resolved
myself
to
my
fate. The
Families’
anger
would
be
satiated
with
my
death,
I
knew
that.
Plus,
I’d
become
an
example.
I
imagined
how
they
would
sensationalize
my
case.
It
would
strengthen
their
control
over
the
masses.
I
didn’t
care.
I
had
nothing
left
to
fight
for.
It
was
a
hopeless
mission we
set
ourselves
on
anyway.

Liet
slowed
the
Hummer,
and
I
opened
my
eyes.
Florida’s
chain
link border
was
directly
in
front.
The
guards
flanked
the side
of
the
road,
guns
at
the
ready.
Thank
goodness,
I
thought.
My
time
with
Liet
was close
to an
end.
A
jail
cell
was
going
to be
heaven.

Liet
stopped
and
rolled
down the
window.
He placed
his
arm
on the
door,
taking
on
an
air
of
nonchalance.
The
guard
stepped
forward,
his
face
scrunched with
seriousness.

“What
is
your
business
in
Florida?”
His
eyes
scanned
the
vehicle.
Confusion
covered
his
face
as
he
glanced
at
me.
He
opened his mouth to
speak,
but
recognition
sparked
when he
looked
at
Liet.
“General
Liet!”
he
breathed.
“We
thought
you
were
dead.”

The
smirk on
Liet’s
face
flipped
into a
frown.
Red
crept
up his
neck.
“Why
would
I
be
dead? I
can
handle a
few
upstarts.”

“Uh,
yeah,
right.”
The
guard
straightened
up. “Of
course
you
can, sir.”
He
signaled
to the others behind
him.
“Give
us a
minute,
we’ll
give
you
an
escort
to
Johnsons’
Town.”

I
snorted in distaste.
Of
course
Mrs. Johnson
renamed
the
town. How
many
other
places
had
been
renamed?
The
guard
raised
his
eyebrows
and
stared
at
me for
a
moment.
I
rolled
my
eyes
and
looked
away.
Two
topless
Jeeps took
positions
in
front
of and
behind
us.
Large
machine
guns
were
secured to the
roll
bars.
Strings of
bullets
hung
out of the
side, like
disemboweled
intestines.
Really?
They
needed
that
much
fire
power? I
guess
keeping
the
humans
in line in
Florida
was a
tough
job.
Or
maybe
they
were
trying
to
keep
the
rest
of us out.

Quinn
and
I,
and
the
rest
of
the
Westerners,
could
have
done
so
much
with a weapon like
that.
We
could’ve
cut
through
a
whole
herd of
undead.
Oh, well. Too late
to
change
it.
Why
worry
about
it?

“Looks
like
we’re
ready
to
go,
sir.” The
guard
pulled
me out of
my
thoughts.
“If
you
want,
I
can drive
you
into
Johnsons’
Town.
Give
you
some
rest,
sir.”

“Yeah.
I’d
like
that.” He
turned
to
me. “Looks
like
you’ll
be
riding
in
the back.”
He
flashed
a
smile.

I
scowled
and
looked over the
seat.
The
only
places
to sit
were
two
fold
downs
chairs.
They
weren’t
going
to
be
comfortable.
But
Liet
wasn’t
concerned
with
my
wellbeing.

Liet
made
sure
my
handcuff
was
secured to
something
on the underside
of the
seat
before
putting
on
my
seatbelt.
Another
guard
sat
across
from
me. Liet
wasn’t
taking
any
chances.
After
everyone
was
loaded,
we
passed
through
the
gate
into
Florida.
I
stared at the
fence
until it
faded
from
view.
I
settled into the
seat
as
well
as
I
could
and
closed
my
eyes.