Life After The Undead (Book 1) (102 page)

I
opened
the
folder
and
stared
at
the
picture.
It
took
my
exhausted
brain
a
few
minutes
before
I
recognized
the
man.
I
stared
at
Quinn.

“I
guess
he
really
didn’t
like
being
handcuffed
to
the
steering
wheel.”

“You
sure
about
this?”
I
asked.

Pam
nodded.
“Things
got
crazy
when
the
workers
attacked,
but
according
to
witnesses,
he
disappeared
right
after
the
first
shot
was
fired.
Some
of
the
other
soldiers
cursed
him
for
being
a
coward,
but
now
we
know
where
he
was
going.”

My
forehead
wrinkled
in confusion. “Why
Ben?
What
ties
did
he
have
with
The
Families?”
I
flipped
open
the
folder,
but
the
only
information
in
there
was
his
transfer
sheet.

Pam
shrugged.
“Who
knows?
It’s
possible
he
didn’t
have
any
ties
at
all
. He
was
smart
enough
to
get
out
when
the
gett
in’
was
good.”

I set
the
folder
down
and
buried
my
face in
my
hand.
I
sat
like
that
for a
few
minutes,
then
raised
my
head.
“We
have
to
find
out
what
they
know.
We
need
to
get
some
spies
into
Florida.”

“How
do
you
expect
to
do
that?”
 
Pam
questioned.

Frustration
squeezed
my
chest,
and
I
slammed
my
fist
onto
the
desk.
“I
don’t
know,
but
we
’d
better
figure
something out.
Bill
and
Kyle
made
it
down
there
. We
can
get
someone
else
in.”

Quinn
placed
a
hand
on
my
shoulder.
“Even
if
we
get
someone
in,
how
are
they
going
to
communicate
with
us?”

“CB
radio,
telegraph,
carrier
pigeon.
I
don
’t
care.
Just
make
it
happen.”

Quinn
held
his
hands
up
in
defense.
“All
right.
We’ll
figure
something
out.
Right
now,
though,
I
think
you
need
to
head
to
bed.
You
’v
e
been
awake
for
a
long
time,
and
I
don
’t
think
you
’r
e
thinking
too
clearly.”

I stared
at
him
and
the
heat
rose
to
my
face.
I
opened
my
mouth
to
speak,
thought
better
of
it,
and
stood
from
the
chair.
I
stared
at
Pam and
Quinn
for a
moment
before
heading upstairs.

After I
closed
the
door,
I
leaned
against
it
for
support.
My
head
spun
and
I
felt
nauseous.
It
wasn
’t
supposed
to
be
this
difficult. After
North
Platte
fell, it
was
supposed
to
be
a
quick
overthrow
of The
Families. No
one
would
get
hurt
and
everyone
would
be
thankful
for the
freedom.
All
we
were
trying
to do
was
make
the
nation
a
better
place
to
live.
We
needed
to
get
rid
of
the
zombies.

My
head
ached,
so
I
decided
to
take
a
shower
and
lay
down.
I
stepped
into
the
bathroom
and then
turned
on
the
water.
The
heat
massaged
the
back
of
my
head,
and
I tried
not
to
think
about
anything.
We
’d
been
lucky
that
North
Platte
fell
so
quickly.
The
people
sent
to
work
t
here
had
done
something
to piss
The
Families
off.
They
were
probably
decent
people,
but
their
ideas
didn
’t
mesh
with
their
rulers.
It
wasn
’t
hard
to
convince
them
to
retaliate because
they
had
nothing
to
lose.
Those
who
still
lived
in
Florida
had
everything
to
lose.
They
didn’t
know
what
it
was
like
outside
the
state,
they
only knew
what
The
Families
told
them.
I
realized
we
’d
run
into
more
Pearls
than
we
would
Tanyas,
and
that
made
our
campaign
that
much
harder.

Plus,
we
were
a
threat
to
The
Families,
whose
control
was
based
on
fear.
Once
that
fear
was
gone,
they
were
done.
They
wouldn
’t
like
that,
and
that was
why
they’d
sent
the
scouts.
They
needed
to
know
for
sure
what
they
were
up
against.
Sending
back a
truck
would
be
a nice
gesture,
but it’d
only buy
us
time.
Eventually,
we
’d
have
to
face
the
army
of
Florida.

I
stepped
out
of
the
shower
and
dried
off.
I
pulled
on a
pair
of
sweats
and
a
tank
top,
then
headed
for
bed.
Quinn
sat
on
the
edge
and
smiled
feebly
at me
as I
took
a
seat
next
to
him.
I
wrapped
my
arm
around
his
shoulders
and
buried
my
face in
his
chest.
His
warm
breath
on
the
top
of
my
head
comforted me.