Life After The Undead (Book 1) (22 page)

“Look,
Krista,”
Pearl
’s
voice
was
soft,
“I
understand
not
wanting
to
stay
here.
I
’v
e
thought
about
it
a
lot
too
, but
I’v
e
seen
wha
t’s
out
there.
I
’v
e
seen
what
the
zombies
can
do,
and
I’d
much
rather
stay
here
where
I
know
I’m
safe.”

I
sighed.
“I’v
e
seen
what
the
zombies
can
do
too
, but
pretending
they
don’t
exist
isn’t
going
to
make
them go
away.
Something
has
to
be
done.”

“Well,
I
hope
you
’r
e
successful
in
what
you
do.”
Pearl
attempted
to
walk
away,
but I
grabbed
her
arm.

“I
don’t
want
you
to
be
mad
at
me.
You
’r
e
my
only
friend,
and
I
want
you
to stay
that
way.”

Pearl
forced
a
smile.
“
I’m
not
mad.
I
’
m
sad
you
want
to
leave.
I
understand
that
you
should
be
with
your
family.”

“Then
come
with
me.”

Pearl
shook
her
head.
“I’m
not
that
brave.”

I
wrapped
my
arms
around
Pearl
’s
shoulders,
and
we
held
each
other
for
a
while. Eventually,
we let
go
and
then headed
into
the
hotel
to
spend
our last
few
hours
together.

***

Liet
showed
up
at
my
door
at
six.
I
grabbed
my
duffel
bag
of
clothes
and
headed
into
the
morning
sun.
He
opened
the
door
to
a
transport
truck,
and
I
climbed
into
the
passenger
side.
Glancing out the window, I
noticed
three
more
trucks
were
making
the
trip,
two
of
them
were
filled
with
kids
from
my
class
and
other
civilians
from
the
town.
The
third
was
full
of
the
soldiers
who
’d come
with
Liet. He
smiled
as
he
climbed
behind
the
steering
wheel.

“You
ready?”

I smiled
and
nodded.

“You
better
be
because
we
ain’t
ever
coming
back
here.”
He turned the key and
put
the
truck
into
gear. Whether I was ready or not, we were on our way.

My
stomach
fluttered,
but
I
didn
’t
look
back.
I
thought
about
Pearl,
wished
briefly
that
she’d
decided
to
come,
then
focused
on
what
lay
ahead.
It’d
been
two
years
since
I’d
been
outside
Florida,
and
I
was
anxious
to
see
what
had
happened
in
that
time.
From
what
I’d
been
told,
most
of
the
country
had
been
abandoned.
Cities
lay
in ruin,
and
bodies
were
left to
rot in
the
streets.
The
power
on
the
East
Coast
had
been
redirected
to
Florida
so
the
survivors
could
live
in comfort.
There
were
some
stories
that
pockets
of
survivors
stayed
in the
West,
eking
out
a
living
on
the
sparse
reserves
that
were
left.
I
wasn
’t
sure
if
I
believed
it
all.
The
country
had
been
populated
by
millions
of
people,
it
was
hard
to
believe
only
thousands
of
them
were
left.
All
I
knew
was
I
was
leaving
Florida.
I
was
going
to be
free.

Liet
stared
at
me
out
of
the
corner
of
his
eye,
so I
pulled
myself
out
of
my
thoughts
and
turned
toward
him.

“So
you
’r
e
a
general,
huh?”

He
nodded.

“How
did
you
get
that
position?”

“No
one
else
wanted
it.”

“Really?
Why
not?”

“They
’r
e
scared.”
He
glanced
at
me.
“You
haven
’t
been
out
for
a
while,
but
the
world
is
a
much
different
place
than
what
you
remember.”
He
focused
his
gaze
back
on
the
road.
“Life
won
’t
be
easy
in
North
Platte.
In
fact,
it
’ll
be hell.”  He
smiled
and
looked
at
me
sideways.
“
You
’r
e
lucky.
I’ll
be
there
to
take
care
of
you.”

“I
don’t
want
you
to
take
care
of
me.
I
want
you
to
teach
me to
fight.”

“Oh,
you
’l
l
learn
to
fight.
You
’l
l
have
to.
Or
you
won
’t
survive.”

“I
hear
you
’r
e
an
ex-con.
Is
that
true?”

Liet
snorted
a
laugh.
“Yeah.
I
t’s
true.”

“What
did
you
do?”

He
shrugged
one
shoulder.
“Does it
really
matter?”

I stared
at
him
for a
second.
“Probably
not.
Did
you
escape
from
prison
or did
they
let
you
go?”

His
knuckles
turned
white as
he
gripped
the
steering
wheel
and
his
jaw
muscles
tighten. “What
kind
of
question
is
that?”

“I
didn’t
mean
anything
by
it.
I
was
just
curious.”

“I did
my
time.
I
paid
my
debt
to
society.”