Life After The Undead (Book 1) (21 page)

“How
long
have
you
been
here,
Krista?”

“Two
years.”

“Pchoo.
Tha
t’s
a
long
time.
Do
you
like
it
here?”

I
shrugged.
“I
don’t
know.”
I
wanted
to
tell
him
I
thought
I
was
in
the
ninth
level
of
hell,
but
I’d
just
met
him. I
needed
to
play
it cool,
figure
out
his
intentions.

“What
do
you
do
here?”

“Go to
class,
then
come
up
here
and
wait
on
the
Johnsons.”

“When
I
saw
you
by
the
lake,
weren
’t
you
supposed
to
be in
school?”

I
nodded.

“Why
weren
’t
you
in
class
today?”

I
shrugged again.
“I
didn
’t
see
the
point
in
it
anymore.”

“What
do
you
mean?”

“I
mean,
why
do
we
have
to
go
to
school
and
learn
math
and
all
that
other
stuff
if
we
can’t
use
it
in
the
real
world.
I
mean,
there is
no
real
world
anymore.”
I
threw
the
plate
I held
into
the
trash.
“And
I
’l
l
be
damned
if
I’m
going
to
be
someone
’s
servant
for
the
rest
of
my
life.”

Liet’s
smile
grew
wider.
“What
you
really
want
is
a little
adventure.”

I
nodded.
“Yeah.
That
would
be
nice.”

“You
ever
been
outside
of
Florida?”

“Not
in
two
years.”

“Well,
Krista,
since
you
and
I are
the
only
family
we
have
left,
we
need
to
stick
together.
Would
you
like
to
go
with
me
to
Nebraska?”

I
straightened
.
“Yeah.”

“How
much skill
do
you
have
in
fighting
zombies?”

I
hunched
my
shoulders.
“None.
They
don’t
teach
us
anything of
value
here.”

Liet
waved.
“Not to
worry.
I can
make
sure
you
have
all
the
skills
you
need. Be
ready
early
tomorrow.
I’ll
take
care
of
everything.”
He
turned
and
left.

I
found it
hard
to
suppress
a
smile.
I looked
at
the
rest
of
the
dirty
dishes
and
threw
them
all
into
the
trash.
I
walked
out
of
the
penthouse
back
to
my
room
to
pack
my
belongings.
After
I
finished,
I
went
to
find
Pearl.
I
didn’t
think
it
’d
be
right
to
leave
without
saying goodbye
to
my
only
friend.

Pearl
was
still
in the
penthouse,
cleaning up,
so
I
waited
outside
until
she
was
done.
We
walked
to
the
lake,
and
Pearl
sat
on
the
beach
while
I threw
pebbles
into
the
water.

“I’m
leaving
tomorrow.”

Pearl
stared
at
me in
disbelief.
“Where
are
you
going?”

“Liet said
I
could
go
with
him.”

Pearl
stood
and
grabbed
my
arm.
“I
don
’t
think
that
’s
a
very
good
idea.
I
’v
e
heard
bad
things
about
him,
Krista.”

I
pulled
away
from
Pearl
’s
grasp.
“Yeah?
Like
what?”

“I
heard
he’s
an
ex-con.”

“So?
Lots
of
people
get
reformed
in
prison.”

“I
don’t
think
he’s
very
nice.
What
do
you
know
about
him?”

I
sighed
and
pulled
the
picture
out
of
my
pocket.
I
handed
it
to
Pearl.
“He’s
my
family.”

Pearl
unfolded
the
photo
and
stared
at it
in
disgust. “How
is he
your
family?”

“He
’s
my
second
cousin.”

Pearl
huffed.
“How
do
you
know
that
for
sure?”

“Look
at
the
picture.
That’s
me.
There
are
my parents.
This
is
Liet’s
mom.
And
this
is
Liet.”

Pearl
shook
her
head.
“I
don’t
think
it’s
a
good
idea.”

“
Staying
here is?
What
are
we
even
doing
here?
We
go
to
school
to
learn
stuff
that
we
are
never
going
to
use
in
life.
Then
we
have
to
wait
on
jerks.
I
don
’t
know
about
you,
but
I
’m
not
going
to
be
their
servant
for
the
rest
of
my
life.”

“What
are
you
gonna
do
out
there?
Huh?
Fight
zombies?
Build
a
wall?
Yeah,
that
sounds
like such
a
better
deal.
At
least
here
you
have
a
roof
over
your
head
and
food
on
your
plate.
Did
Liet
guarantee
that
you
’d
have
that?”

“At
least
I’d
be
doing
something.
At
least
I
have
family.”

We
turned
our
backs
on
each
other
and
stared
off
in
opposite
directions
for a long
time.
Why
did
Pearl
want
to
stay?
The
re was
nothing.
At
least
out
there,
there
was
a
chance
for
adventure.
To
do
something
with
our
lives.
I
didn’t
want
to
be
a
slave.
I
might
not
know
Liet
very well
or
remember
his
family,
but
he
was
all
I had
left.
I
threw
a
rock into
the
water.