Life After The Undead (Book 1) (14 page)

The
soldier
shook
his
head. “If
he
was
in
any
other
bunker
but
mine,
he’d
be
dead.”

“Does
anyone
know
how
this all
started?”
I
waited
for
the
soldier
to
answer,
and
when
he
didn’t,
I
glanced
around
at
the
faces
of
the
others.

They
stared
at
me
with
blank
expressions.

“No
one?
No
one
knows
wha
t’s
going
on?”
I
turned
back
to
the
soldier.

He
shrugged
his
right
shoulder
and
then
turned
so
his
back
was
to
me.

I
pulled
my
sleeping bag
up to
my
chin.
Someone
had
to
know
something.
There
was
no
way
zombies
could
be
walking
the
earth
and
everyone
was
oblivious
to
how
they
got
there.
I
averted
my
gaze
to
the sky
and
stared
at
the
stars.
I
thought
about
my
parents,
and
tears
welled
in
my
eyes.
I
buried
my
head
in
my
sleeping
bag,
sobbing
softly
until
I
fell
asleep.

***

I
was
jerked
out
of
a
dreamless
sleep
by
the
sounds
of
moaning.
I
poked
my
head
out
of
the
bag
and
stared
at
the
person
sleeping next
to
me.
I
nudged
their
shoulder,
hoping
they’d
roll
over
and
be
quiet.
Then
the
sound
came
again,
closer,
and
I
shot
straight
up.
The
soldier
who
slept
on
the
bench
next
to
me
was
already
up
and
searching
for
his
weapon.
The
moan
sounded
again,
echoed
by
several
other
grunts
and
sighs
from
the
trees.
I
jumped
out
of
my
sleeping
bag
and
scrambled
to
the
side
of
the
truck.
Clicking
on
the
flashlight,
I
shone
the
light
out
as
far
as it
would
go.
More
moans
filled
the
air,
and
I
caught
a
zombie
in
the
beam.
I
pointed
it out
to
the
soldier.
He
nodded.

“If
they
get
any
closer,
I’ll
fire.
We
don
’t
have
a
lot
of
ammo,
so
I
don
’t
want
to
waste
it
if
I
don
’t
have
to.”

Another
soldier
went
to
the
tru
ck’s
cab
and
started
the
engine.
The
others
a
woke
and
wondered
what
was
going
on. A
moan
sounded
at
the
back
of
the
truck,
followed
by
a
woman
’s
scream,
and
the
group
turned
to
see
what
had
happened.
I
flashed
the
light
toward
the
woman
just
as
she
moved
out
of
the way.
The
zombie
grabbed
for
her
hair.
The
soldier
raised his
weapon
and
fired.
The
shot
caught
the
creature
right
between
the
eyes
and
it
fell
over
backward. Both
the
soldier
and
I
almost
fell
over
as
the truck
lurched
forward
and
took
off
down
the
highway.
We
sat
on
the
bench
and
took
a
collective
sigh.

“Is
everyone
all
right?”
  He
grabbed
the
flashlight
out
of
my
hand
and
shone
it
on
the
people. They
nodded
as
the
beam passed
their
face.
“Good.”
He
handed
the
light
back.

“What
are
we
going
to
do?”  I
whispered.

The
soldier
sniffed.
“We
need
to
find
other
survivors.
If
there
are
any.
Then
we
need
to
form
an
army
and
destroy
this
menace.”

“I say
we
head
to
Florida,” a
voice
spoke
in
the
darkness.

I
squinted
to
find
the
speaker,
but
it
was
too
dark.
“Why?”

“It’s
the
most
easily
defendable
place.
We
put
some
mines
in
the
water
so
nothing can
get
us
from
the
sea,
and
we
place
a
fence
on
the
border.
There’s
only
one
way
in and
one
way
out.”

The
soldier
turned
and
looked
at
me.
“Sounds
like
a
logical
option
to
me.”

I
shrugged.
“It’s
not
like
I
have
any
ideas.”

He
stood
and
pounded
on
the
roof
of
the
cab.
“We
’r
e
going
to
Florida.”

CHAPTER
4

It
took
us
three
days
to
get
to
the
Florida
border,
and
most
of
that
was
accomplished
by
driving
night
and
day.
The
farther
east
we
went,
the
more
hordes
of
zombies
we
ran
into.
We
decided
it
was
best
just
to
stop
for
fuel
and
food.
We
were
lucky
not
to
lose
any
members
of
our
group.

After
we
made
it
to
the
border,
we realized
we
were
n’t
the
first
to
think
it
was
the
safest
place.
A
group
had
already
set
up
a
perimeter
fence
and
funneled
all
the
traffic
through
a
central
location.
I
thought
it
was
strange
that
something
had
been
built
so
fast.
How
long
does it
take
to
erect
a
fence
on
one hundred and sixty
miles?
How
long
had it
been
since
my
family
and
I
were
first
attacked?
I
couldn
’t
remember.
The
days
mushed
together in
a
blur.
There
were
guards
with
guns
everywhere,
and
I
was
pretty
sure
they
weren
’t
all
military,
even
though
they
were
dressed in
camouflage.
We
followed
a
short
chain
of
cars
to
Orlando
where
the
command
station
had
been
set
up
around
Disney
World.
There
we
were
expected
to
register
so we could
be
reunited
with
any
surviving
family.

I
’d
been
to
Disney
World
once
before,
and
it’d
been
one
of
the
greatest
times in
my
life.
It
was
for my
ninth
birthday.
We
came
down
in
July,
which
was
a
mistake.
It
was
so
very
hot and
the
lines
were
so
long.
I
don
’t
remember
much
of
the
rides,
but
I
do
remember
what
a
relief
it
was
to be
out
of
the
heat.
I
thought
air
conditioning
was
the
greatest
invention
ever.
Mom,
Dad,
and
I
all
got
mouse
ears
with
our
names
stitched
on
the
back.
This trip
was
nothing
like that.
Although,
it
was
still
hot.
Small
camps
had
been
set
up
around
Epcot.
No
one
smiled
at
the
happiest
place
on
earth,
and
I
wondered
how
many
loved
ones
had
been
lost.

The
transport
truck
stopped
at
the
end
of
a
long
line
of
cars,
and
the
others
and
I
followed
the
crowd
to
the
golf
ball. Spaceship
Earth
had
been
transformed
from
a ride
into
a
receiving
center for
refugees.
The
lines
moved
quickly
through
the
various
checkpoints,
and
I
gave
my
name
to
the
person
sitting
at
the
terminal,
who
typed
it
into
the
computer.

“Do
you
have
any
surviving
family
members?”
The
woman
stared
at
me
with
soft
brown
eyes
and
waited
for an
answer.

I
shook
my
head.

“How
old are
you?”

“Fifteen.”

“And
you
don
’t
have
any
grandparents
or
aunts
or
uncles
around?”

I
shrugged.
“I
don’t
know.”

“What
are
their
names?”

I told
her
the
names
of
my
relatives. The
woman
typed
them
into
the
computer.

I tried
to
lean
around
and
see
the
screen.
“Are
any
of
them still
alive?”

The
woman
grimaced.
“I’m
not
seeing
anything,
but
that
doesn
’t
necessarily
mean
they
’r
e
dead.
It’s
possible
they
’r
e
not
in
the
system
yet.
If
they
do
register
with
us,
they
’l
l
pop
up.
Do
you
know
the
names
of
any
relatives
who
have
recently
been
killed
by
the
zombie
horde?”

I
nodded.

“What
were
their
names?”

I told
her,
and
she
typed
in
the
information.

“Okay,
if
anyone
from your
family
registers
with
us,
we
’ll
let
you
know.”

“What
am
I
supposed
to
do
now?”

The
woman
grabbed
a
piece
of
paper
off
her
printer,
handed
it
to
me,
and
pointed
toward
another
line.
I
took
the
information
to
the
back
of
the
line.
When
it
was
my
turn, I
handed
the
paper
to
the
man
behind
the
desk.
He
looked
at it
briefly
and
stamped
it
before
telling
me to
get
on
the
monorail
and
head
to
the
Disney
Contemporary
Resort. I
was
given
a
room
and
a
schedule
of
classes
I
was
required
to
attend.
I
stared
at
it in
disbelief.
This
was
way
too
weird. Zombies
had just
attacked,
were
actually
still
roaming
the
country,
and I
was
supposed
to
go
to
school?
These
people
took
the
normal
thing
to
a
whole
new
level.
Of
course
I
was
only
fifteen,
so
I
didn’t
really
expect
to
get
drafted
into
a
zombie-killing
army.
I
supposed
they
needed
to
do something
with
me
and
the
other
orphans,
and
this
was
their
best
solution.
I
went
to
my
room,
threw
my
sparse
belongings
onto
the
floor,
and
with
a
sigh,
collapsed
onto
the
soft
bed.
I
was
able
to
relax
for a
couple
minutes
before
there
was
a
knock
on
the
door.