Life After The Undead (Book 2): Death to the Undead (67 page)

We
climbed
down
the
fire escape and
side-stepped to
the
edge
of the
building. Quinn looked
around
the
corner
toward
the
high
school.
It
was
still pretty
early,
though
a
few
teachers
showed
up for
class.
They
wouldn’t stay
long
once
they
realized
the
power
was
out.

“How
do we
get
in?”
I
shrugged.

“You
used
to
go
to school
here.”

I
frowned. “Yeah,
but
I
lived in the
building.”
I
thought
for
a
moment.
“Oh,
wait.
If
I
remember
correctly,
the
doors
leading
to the
monorail
never
locked
properly.
Or
the
smokers
propped
it
open
so they
could
sneak
out. We
could
try
there.”

“Sounds
good
to
me.”

We
walked
across
the
street.
We
kind of
tried
to stay
hidden, but didn’t
want
to look
suspicious.
Security
still
seemed
heavier
than normal, but they
would be
focusing
on the
power
issue. Hopefully.

We
tiptoed to the
monorail
track,
getting
as
close
to
the building
as
possible.
It
wasn’t
going
to be
easy
to
climb,
but
there were
service
ladders.
Quinn
had
me
go
first
so he
could
catch
me if
I
fell.
It
was slow
going,
but I
finally
made
it to the
top and
stepped
onto the
platform.
Quinn
pulled
himself
up
beside
me.

“It’s
at
the
end
of
the
hall.” I
pointed. “From
there,
we
just
find
the
stairs.”

Quinn
nodded,
and
off
we
went.

Surprisingly,
there
weren’t more
soldiers
around
the
building. For
someone
as
paranoid
as Mrs. Johnson was,
she
didn’t
stock
up on extra
guns
or
human
protection. Of
course,
they
probably
didn’t
believe
we
were
still in town.
And it
was
a
high
school,
no
sense
freaking
out the
students.
There
were
several people
behind the
front
desk,
but they
were
more
concerned
with the
power
than
who
came
into the
building.
We
snuck
to the
stairs and
closed
the
door
gently
behind us. The
stairwell
was
mainly
concrete
with
metal
stairs.
We
risked
our
voices
echoing
if
we
talked. I
pointed
upward,
grabbing
the
gun
out of
my
waistband.
Quinn nodded.

We
took our time
going
up,
checking
every
door
and
keeping
our
eyes
on the
floors
above and
below us.
Anyone could
have
burst
through
those
doors.
They
wouldn’t
expect
us to be
there,
but
that
didn’t mean they
wouldn’t
sound
an
alarm.
We
had
to have
surprise
on our
side.
We
were
incredibly
outnumbered.
Plus,
Liet
was
somewhere
in the
building.
I
didn’t want to run
into him.
I
was
pretty
sure
if
I
did,
I
wouldn’t
take
any
prisoners.
But
he probably
thought
the
same
thing.
Surely
a
struggle
would
ensue, and
I
wasn’t
in any
shape
to
fight
back. I
had
to stay
calm;
I
had
to
keep
anger out of
it.
If
I
didn’t,
I
would make
mistakes.
Potentially
deadly
ones.

The
air
was
thick
and
heavy
in the
confined
space,
especially
since
the
air
conditioners
were
off.
It
smelled
faintly
of
dust
and mildew. I
sucked
in deep breaths and
wiped
sweat
from
my
forehead.
How many
more
flights?
I
glanced
up. Not
many.
Almost
there.
Then
what?
We
burst
through
the door,
guns
blazing?
That
wasn’t
a
good
idea. Innocent
people
could
get
killed.
How
many
soldiers
would
be in the
suite?
Would we
run
into
the
bodyguard?
I
shuddered
at
the
thought.
On
my
best
day,
I
couldn’t
take
that
guy
out.
There
was no
way
I
was
getting
anywhere
with
my
arm in a
sling.
I
shook
the
thought
out of my
head. I
had to
try.
We
didn’t
make
it
this
far
to
roll
over
and
surrender. I
had
Quinn with
me.
He
could
help.
Please
don’t
let
there
be
a
lot of soldiers
up
there.

We
reached
the top of
the
stairs, and
I
hesitated
at
the
door.
My
bladder
felt
incredibly
full,
my
stomach
tingled.
Last
chance.
We
could
turn
around
now
and
run
away,
never
looking
back.
I
glanced
at
Quinn. Maybe
he
thought
the
same
thing.
He
had
his
rifle
pointing
at
the
door.
He
nodded,
indicating
I
should
go
forward.
Switching
my
gun
from
my
good
hand
to the
one
in the
sling,
I
reached
for
the handle. Just as I
was
about
to
grab
it, it
cracked
open.

“I’ll
head
back
any
time I
want
to,”
the voice
on the
other
side
said.

Dang
it!
It
was
Liet.
I
pressed
myself
against
the
wall,
hoping
to become invisible.

“And
if
I
find
her along
the
way,
I’m
not bringing
her
back
here. I’ll
take
care of
it in
my
own
way.”

The
door
opened
further.
Liet
stepped onto the
stairwell,
mumbling
under his
breath.
He
hadn’t
seen
us,
we
were
obscured
by
the
door.
Quinn
waited
until the
door
was
almost
closed
and
Liet
had
descended a
couple
of
stairs
before attacking. Swinging
the
butt of his
rifle,
the
end
connected
with
the
back
of
Liet’s
head. He
grunted
and
fell
forward,
rolling
down four or
five
stairs
before
slamming
into the
concrete landing.
He
was
dazed but not
unconscious.
Quinn
hurried
toward
him.
Liet’s
eyes
grew
wide,
his lip
curled
into a
snarl.