Life After The Undead (Book 1) (58 page)

“Why
do
you
need
to
liberate
the
East?
They
’r
e
happy
with their
situation.”

“Are
they?”
Kyle
asked.

I
shrugged.
“Well,
yeah,
the
last
time
I
was
there,
they
seemed
to
be
content.”

“Only
because
they
don
’t
really
know
wha
t’s
going
on,”
Bill
said with a snarl.

I
glared
at
him.
“And
wha
t’s
really
going
on?”

He
chuckled,
a
low
maniacal
sound,
like
one
you
hear
from
cartoon
villains.
“They
’r
e
being
brainwashed,
Krista.”
He
glanced
at
Quinn.
“She’s
too
close
to
the
situation. She
can
’t
even
see
wha
t’s
going
on.”

Quinn
held
up
a
hand
to
silence
him
and
turned
to
me.
“What
Bil
l’
s
trying
to
say
is
that
the
people
in
the
East
really
have
no
idea
what
’s
going
on in
North
Platte
because
they
’re
being
told
lies
and
stories
to
keep
them under
control.”

I
blinked
in
disbelief.
“No.
They
know
about
the
zombies.
They
know
wha
t’s
going
on.”

“Krista,
think
about
it. If
they
really
wanted
to
build
a
wall,
why
would
they
only
send
two
thousand
people?
Why
wouldn
’t
they
send
as
many
as
they
could?
If
they
really
wanted
that
wall
built,
they’d
try
to
get
it
done
as
fast
as
possible.”

“Well,
maybe,
but—”

“There
is no
maybe
about
it!”
Bill
yelled. “They
send
criminals
and
undesirables
to
Nebraska
so
they
can
live
in the
utopia
of
Florida. And
to
keep
those
people
under
control,
they
tell
them
lies,
make
them
live
in fear
that
if
they
ever
leave
Florida,
they
will
die!”

I
opened
my
mouth
to
speak,
but
Bill
interrupted
me
again.

“I
don’t
even
know
why
we
’r
e
trying
to
tell
her,”
he
said
to
Quinn.
“She
doesn’t
get
it.
She
’s
special.
She’s
never
had
to
endure
any
hardships
in
her
life.”

Anger
flared
in
my
chest
that
was
quickly
replaced
with
sadness.
Tears
stung
my
eyes,
but
I
refused
to
let
them
fall
in
front
of
him.
I
got
up
from
my
seat
and
headed
into
my
room.

The
guys
spent
a
few
minutes
arguing quietly
among
themselves
before
Quinn
entered
my
cell.

“Bill
wasn
’t
trying
to
be
a
jerk.”

I
sniffed
and
wiped
at
my
eyes. “Really? Because
he
’s
pretty
good
at
it.”

Quinn
sat
next
to
me
on
the
bed.
“Bill’s
suspicious. However
Liet acts
toward
the
workers,
he seems
to
be
pretty
nice to
you.”

I stared
at
him,
my
lip
curled
in
disgust. “Of
course
he
’s
nice
to
me.
We’re
family
, but
at
the
same
time,
he
sends
me
out
into
the
West
to
gather
supplies.
It’s
like
he
wants
me
around,
but
doesn
’t.
Plus,
he
has
these
really
weird
mood
swings.”
I
snapped
my
mouth
shut.
I
doubted
Quinn
wanted
to
hear
about
my
troubles.
“I’v
e
had
my
share
of
hardships.”

“I’m
sure
you
have.
I
’d
never
question
what
you
’v
e
been
through
in
your
life.”

A soft
knocking
sounded
on
the
bars,
and
we
looked
up
to
see
Bill
standing
at
the
door.

“Sorry
to
interrupt,”
he
said,
almost
sheepishly.
“I
wanted
to
apologize
for
what
I
said.
Quinn
’s
right.
None
of
us
know
what
you
’v
e
endured.
I
shouldn
’t
have
said
that.
If
you
want
to
help,
you
can, but
if
I
find
out
you’re
a
spy,
I
’ll
personally
serve
you
to
the
zombies.
Even
if
I
have
to
do
it
with
my
dying
breath.”

I
shook
my
head.
“I’m
not.
I
swear.
What
do
you
need
me
to
do?”

CHAPTER
14

We
returned
the
next
morning
with
the
filled
trucks.
After
enduring
another
inspection,
Quinn
and
I
went
to
the
courthouse
to let
Liet
know
we
were
back.
As
we
stepped
through
the
doors,
Liet
presided
over
a
group
of
soldiers. One
was
shackled
and
kneeling
on
the
floor.
Quinn and
I
waited
at
the
back
of
the
room.

“They
needed
food.
You
can
’t
let
kids
go
hungry.”

Liet
slammed
his
fist
onto
the
desktop.
“
I
make
the
decisions
of
who
gets
what
and
how
much.”
He
pointed
a
finger
at
the
soldier.
“
You
follow
orders.”
He
flipped
his
hand
in
the
air. “Take
him
to
the
pyre.”

“What?”
The
soldier
on
the
floor
squealed
and
tried to
get
to
his
feet,
but
the
two
on
either
side
of him
pushed
him
back
down.
“It
won
’t
happen
again.
Please,
please
give
me
another
chance.”

Liet
eyed
the
soldiers,
his
face
pinched
with
irritation. “What
is
he
still
doing
in my
presence?
I
said,
take
him
to the
pyre
.”

The
soldiers
grabbed
the
prisoner
by
the
arms
and
dragged
him
out
of
the
room. His
pleas
for
mercy
echoed
for a
long
time
after
he
left.
I
felt
sick
to
my
stomach,
and
Quinn
went
white.
Things
were
getting
worse.
Liet
was
mean
before,
but
now
he
was
being
downright
cruel. Quinn
and
the
guys
were
right. Something
had
to
be
done.
Liet
glanced
up
and
noticed
us
at
the
back
of
the
room.

“Ah, I
see
you’ve
returned.
Another
successful
excursion
I
trust?”

I
nodded
mechanically.

“Wonderful.”
He
smiled.

I
swallowed
the
lump
in
my
throat.
“I
assume
you
’l
l want
us
to
head
out
again
and
fill
up
some
more
trucks.”

Liet
shrugged.
“If you
’d
like, but
we
have
enough
supplies
right
now
to
last
us a
while.”

“What
about
Florida?”

“What
about
it?”
Liet
leaned
back
in
his
chair
and
folded his
hands
on
his
stomach.

I
couldn
’t
believe
how
nonchalant
he
acted
after
sentencing someone
to
death.
I
tried
to
gather
my
thoughts.

“I
thought
you
wanted
to
get
supplies
to
take
to
them.”

“I
thought
about
it, but
what
have
they
done
for
us
lately?”

It
was
baffling.
Was
he
really
that
callous?
“They
sent
you
workers
a
few
months
ago.”

“So?
The
workers
they
sent
aren
’t
worth
anything.
Do
you
know what
I
have
to
put
them
through
to
get
them
to
do
the
simplest
task?”

I took
a
deep
breath and
struggled
to
keep
my
voice
under
control.
“So,
if
you
send
them
a
gift
of
supplies,
perhaps
they
’ll
be more
receptive
to
sending
workers
who
actually
work. Right
now
they
send
you
those
they
don’t
want
out
there.”

Liet
stroked
his chin
as
he
thought. “What
do
you
care
if
I
have
good
workers
or
not?
Eventually,
I can
motivate
anyone
to
do
anything
I
want.”

“Maybe
if
you
had
better
workers,
you
wouldn
’t
be
so
stressed
out.
With
better
workers,
you
could
relax.
Spend
an
evening
at
the
river.
I think
sending
a
truck
will
be a
gesture
of
good
will.
They
’ll
eventually
run
out
of
supplies
and
come
here
looking
for
them.
Do
you
really
want
The
Families
subverting your
authority?
If
you
take
the
initiative,
they
’l
l
stay
put.”

Liet
stared
at
me
intently.
“Perhaps.
What
do
you
suggest
I
send?”

“Food.
Maybe
some
clothes.”

“
I’ll
think
about
it.”
He
sat
forward
in
his
chair
and
buried
his
face
in
his
paperwork.

“So,
do
you
want
us
to
get
some
stuff?”
I
asked.

He
waved
his
hand.
“Sure. Just
leave
me
alone.”

Quinn
and
I
headed
out
to
the
empty
trucks
and
climbed
into
the
cab. Bill
and
Kyle
waited
in their
semi,
and
we
headed
down
the
road.
A
few
miles
outside
of
North
Platte,
I
noticed
a
horde of
zombies
on
the
road.

“Tha
t’s
odd.”
I
pointed
out
the
window.

Quinn
leaned
forward
and
slowed
the
truck
down.
“Yeah,
that
is
weird.
Why
are
they
heading away
from
North
Platte?”

I
shook
my
head.

As
we
got
closer to
the
horde,
we
noticed
someone
running
from the
zombies.
He
was
a
good
distance
in
front
of
the
creatures,
but
more
approached
from
the
sides.
Eventually,
they
were
going
to
surround
him.
I
recognized
the
man
as
the
soldier
from Lie
t’s
office.
Quinn sped
up
and
took
out
as many
zombies
as
he
could.