Life After The Undead (Book 2): Death to the Undead (5 page)

His
question
got
the
crowd
talking.
They
turned
to
each
other, looking for
answers,
and
they
shot a
multitude
of
questions
down
at
Quinn
and
me,
most of
them
I
couldn’t
understand.
Quinn
grabbed
the bullhorn
from
me.

“People!”
His loud voice
quieted the
crowd.
“We
understand
your
concerns, and
we’re
not sending
you
out
there unarmed
or
unprepared.
You’ve
dealt with the
zombie
menace
day
in and day
out, it’s not
any
different
over
there.”

“But
there
are
more
of
them
and
we
don’t
have
a
wall
to
help
protect
us.” I
scanned the
crowd,
but
couldn’t
tell
who the
speaker
was.

“Yeah,
there
are
more
of
them, but they
aren’t
unstoppable.
They
are
slow, they
are
dumb.
If
you
are
smart,
you
will survive
out
there.
You
will
have
protection
and
shelter. It’s
not like
we’re
leaving
here
without a
plan.”

“Then
what
is the plan?”
the
man
in the
plaid shirt
asked.

Quinn
handed
the bullhorn
back
to
me.

“We
are
going
to
gather
every
supply
we
can
find. Every
gun,
every
can of food, every
extra
scrap
of
clothing,
and
anything else
you
want
to
take,
and
we’re
loading
it into the
trucks. Once
that is
done,
we’ll
head
into
Wyoming.
There
are
small towns, tiny
places that the
zombies
haven’t
touched,
surrounded
by
mountains
that
you
will
call
a
safe
haven. The
natural
landscape
will
aid
in
your
protection,
and
you
can do anything
else
to
make
sure
you
feel
safe.”

“How
long
do we
have?”

“Twenty-four
hours. Anymore,
and
we
risk
Florida
invading.”

The
crowd
rose
from their
seats,
filing
out of the
gym
and
talking
to themselves.
No one
spoke
to Quinn
or
me,
but they
nodded
in our
direction
as
they
passed. I
didn’t
draw
an
easy
breath
until the
gym
was almost
empty.

Pam
and
Tanya
stood from the
bleachers
and
joined
Quinn
and
me
in the
middle of
the
floor.

“That
went
pretty
well,”
Pam
stated.

I
nodded.
“Thank
goodness.”

She
smiled.
“Oh,
we
would have
protected
you
for
as
long
as
possible
if they
had
come
after
you.”

Quinn
smirked, “No
one
was
coming
after
you.
They
knew what they
were
getting
into when they
picked
up the
guns
and
rebelled
against
Liet.
C’mon.
Let’s
get
your
stuff
packed.”
He
wrapped
his arm
around
my
shoulders
and
we
headed
toward
the
door.

As
we stepped
into the
hallway,
we
were
met
by
a
group
of
15
people
standing
in a
circle,
the
mother
and
child
and
man
with
the
flannel
shirt in the
center.
They
turned
toward
us.
Great,
just
great.
They
waited
for
us in
the
hall.
They
didn’t want to make
a
scene
in the
gym,
so now
they were
going
to exact
their
revenge.
I
hoped
the
worry
and
fear
didn’t
show on
my
face.

“If
we
may
have
a
moment,” the
mother
said.

Quinn
and
I
glanced
at
each
other
before
focusing our
attention
back
on them.

“Sure,”
he
said. He
didn’t sound
worried
at
all.

“I’m
Lydia.”
The
woman
placed
her
hand
on her
chest.
“And
this is
Chester.
He
and
I,
along
with
everyone
else,
just
had
a
few
more
questions for
you.”

Quinn
removed
his
arm
from
my
shoulders
and
pushed
his
hands
into his
pockets.
“I
hope
we
can
answer
them
for
you.”

“First
of
all,
do
you
have
an
idea
of where
you
want
to
take
us?”

“It’s
a
little town
called
Dashton. It’s
in
Wyoming,
but
you
won’t
find it on
any
map.
It’s
tucked
between
some
canyons.
It
was founded
by
bandits, and
they
wanted
to
remain
hidden,
so the
town
has,
too.”

More
than
likely,
the people
who
founded
the town
were
the same
ones
who
created
Quinn’s
ranch.
I
was
sure
they
needed
two
different
places,
just in
case
one
was
compromised,
but
I
imagined
there
were
probably
more.
Of
course,
I
didn’t
say
anything
out loud. I
knew
Quinn
wanted
to
keep
his place
a
secret. Even
if these
people
were
on our
side,
the
fewer
people
who
knew,
the
fewer
could
give
directions
if
anything
ever
happened.
Plus,
I
liked
the
idea
of being
able to
vanish
without
anyone being
able
to
find
me.
It
would be
like
going
on vacation
if
things
got
too out of hand.

“You’re
still planning
on
invading
Florida,
right?”
Lydia
wondered.
“I
mean, this
isn’t
a
turn
tail and
run and
hope
for
the
best.
Some of
our
families
are
still down
there.”

My
chest
felt
lighter
and
my
knees
went
a
little
weak
with
relief
as
it
flooded
my
body.
I
couldn’t
help
but
smile.
“Of
course
we’re
still
going
after
Florida.
We
just
have
to
regroup
and
re-organize
the plan.”