Life After The Undead (Book 1) (61 page)

I
tried
to
find
comfort
in
his
words
but
couldn
’t.
We
rounded
a
bend
in
the
canyon,
and
it
opened
into a
valley.
I dropped my
hand
to
my
side.
Rolling
hills
surrounded
the
green
landscape
on
either
side,
and
white
and
red
wildflowers
dotted
the
land.
Cows grazed
freely.
I saw a
few
of
the
lookouts
on
the
tops
of
the
hills,
but
they
lounged
in
the
grass,
chewing
on
stalks
as if
they
didn’t
have
a
care
in
the
world.
As
we
approached
the
valley,
my
horse
shifted
uneasily
from one
foot
to
the
other
and
snorted
.
At
first,
I
assumed
he
smelled
something
he
didn
’t
like,
like
a
zombie,
but
then
I
realized
he
wanted
to
run.
I
grabbed
the
reins
with
both
hands
and
stood
in
the
stirrups.
The
horse
took
off
like
a
shot,
bolting
past
Quinn.
I
glanced
over
my
shoulder
and
noticed
his
smile as
he
encouraged
his
animal
to
follow.

I
faced
forward
again,
and
the
wind
rushed
through
my
hair.
The
air
was
sweet
and
smelled
of
grass
and soil.
I
closed
my
eyes.
The
steady
rhythm
of the
horse
’s
hooves
filled
my
ears,
and
for
the
first
time
in
years,
I
felt
at
peace.
I
didn’t
have
to
worry
about
zombies
or
Liet
or the
workers.
There
was
just
the
breeze
on
my
face,
the
sun
on
my
back,
and
the
horse
beneath
me.
I
opened
my
eyes
again
and
directed
the
horse
toward
a
stand
of
willows.
Quinn
caught
up
with
me,
and
we
headed
toward
the
creek.

I
dismounted
and
found
a
spot
in
the
grass
next
to
the
water.
I
propped
myself
on
my
elbows
and
lounged
in
the
shade.
Quinn
tied
the
horses
to
a
small
tree,
then
took
a
seat
next
to
me
but
an
arm’s
length away.
The
conversation
about
boyfriends
and
girlfriends
entered
my
mind.
It
must
have
been
true.
He
probably
didn’t
like
me.
If
he
did,
he
would
have
sat
right
next
to
me.

“Have
you
ever
lost
any
cows
to
the
undead?”
I
tried to
keep
the
disappointment
out
of
my
voice.

“A
couple.
They
’r
e
pretty
easy
to
cut
down
when
they
’r
e
feeding,
though.”

“Have
you
ever
had
any
cows turn into
zombies?”

He
shook
his
head
and
turned
to
face
me.
“No.
Whatever
causes
them
to
be
that
way
doesn’t
work
on
animals.”

I
turned
my
gaze
to the
stream
of
water. “Huh.
I
wonder
why.”

Quinn
stood
and
picked
some
dead
leaves
off
the
tree
next
to
him.
“I
doubt
anybody
knows.
That’s
one
thing
I’d
like
to
change.
Instead
of
building
a
wall,
we
need
to
figure
out
how,
what,
and
why
this
plague
started.
If
we
know
that,
maybe
we
can
stop
it
from
happening again.”
He
tossed
the
leaves
into
the
water.
“Do
you
think
Liet
will
let
you
go
to Florida?”

I
shrugged.
“It’s
possible.
I’m
sure
I
can
convince
him,
though.”

Quinn
sat
back
down.
“Do
you
think
your
friend
will
help us out?”

“I
don’t
know.
Like
I
told
you
before,
it’s
been
a
long
time
since
I
’v
e
talked
to her.
All
I
can
do
is
go
down
there
and
hope
for
the
best.”

Quinn
nodded.
“I
hope
it
works
out.”

“Me
too.”

We
sat
by
the
creek
until
the
sun
dipped
below
the
horizon.
On
the
way
back to
the
house,
a cool
breeze
blew
across
the
valley.
I looked
up
and
stared
at
the
stars.
Somewhere
in
the
distance,
a
zombie
moaned,
but
it
was
so
faint I
was
able
to
convince
myself
it
was
the
wind.

CHAPTER
15

Liet
summoned
me
to
his
chambers
as
soon
as
we
got
back into
town.
We
’d
gone
back
to
the
Walmart in
Casper
and
loaded
everything
that
was
salvageable.
I
wondered
how
many
more
places
we
were
going
to be
able
to
plunder
before
there
was
nothing
left.
We
couldn
’t
keep
depending
on
existing
supplies
. We
’d
eventually
have
to
create
our
own.

I
yawned
as I
stepped
into
his
office.
My
back
was
sore from
sitting
for
so
long,
and
my
eyes
were
tired
from
driving.
I was also
freezing
from
the
inspection
shower,
my
hair
still
dripped.
My
butt
was
sore
from
the
saddle,
but
that
was
a
pain
I
didn
’t
mind.
Liet
looked
up
from
his
paperwork
as I
approached.

“I’v
e
decided
to
take
your
advice,”
he
said
softly.
“I think
you
should
take
a
truck
down
to
Florida.”

The
exhaustion
drained,
and
I
perked
up.
“Tha
t’s
great.
You
’r
e
doing
the
right
thing
here.”

“Of
course
I
am.
The
only
way
I’m
going
to
get
anything
from
those
jerks
in
Florida
is
if
I
bribe
them
with
stuff
from
here.
How
soon can
you
leave?”

I
shrugged.
“Let
me
get
a
couple
hours
of
sleep
and
a
real
shower,
and
I
’l
l
be
good
to
go.”

Liet
nodded.
“All
right.
Take
Pam
with
you.”

“You
don’t
want
Quinn
to
go
with
me?”

Liet
stared
at
me
for a
moment.
“Why
would
I
want
him
to
go
with
you?
There
is
nothing
on
this
side
of
the
wall
that
concerns
him.
He
can
take
care
of
his
own
business
on
the
other
side.
We’ll
take
care
of
ours.”

I held
my
hands
up
defensively.
“Fine.
Whatever
you
desire.”

“Be ready
in
four
hours.”

I
mock
saluted,
then
headed
up
to
the
apartment.

***

After I
got
up
from
a
two
and
a
half
hour
nap,
I
took
a
shower.
I threw
the
curtains
back,
grabbing
a
towel
off
the
counter.
I
wrapped
it
around
my
body
and
headed
into
my
room.
I
jumped
when
I
noticed
Liet sitting
on
my
bed.
I
hurried
to
the
closet
and
pulled
on
some
clothes.

“Is there
something
going
on
between
you
and
Quinn?”
Liet’s
voice
was
low.

“I
don’t
believe
that
’s
any
of your
business.”
I
stepped
out
of
the
closet
and
went
to
grab
my
brush
off
the
dresser.

He
grabbed
my
arm.
“Of
course
it’s
my
business.
I
’
m
your
guardian!”

I jerked
out
of
his
grasp
and
stared
at
him.
“You
may
be
my
guardian,
but
you
’r
e
not
my
parent.
You
have
no
right
to
tell
me
what
I
can
or
can
’t
do.”
I
stormed
into
the
bathroom.
Who
did
this
guy
think
he
was?

“Krista,
I’m
not
playing
around
here.
I
want
to
know.
You
’r
e
too
young.
You
have
no
idea
what
you
’r
e
getting
yourself
into.”

I
tugged
the
brush
through
my
hair.
“I’
m
old
enough
to
go
into
zombie-infested
lands
to
get
your
supplies,
but
I’m
not
old
enough
to
have
a
boyfriend?
That
makes
a
lot
of
sense.”
  I
stomped
to
the
door.
Liet
grabbed
the
back
of
my
shirt
and
pulled
me
into
the
room.

After
he
let
go,
I
spun
around
and
punched
him
in
the
mouth.
I
don
’t
know
what
came
over
me.
It
just
happened.
All
I
could
think
was
that
I
wanted
to
get away
and
he
wouldn
’t
let
me.
It
was
instinct.
His
hand
came
up
to
his
lip,
and
he licked
the
blood
away.
He raised his
hand
to
slap
me
across
the
face,
but I
blocked
it
and
landed
another
punch,
this
one
next
to
his
eye. Again,
it
was
instinct.
If
I’d
actually
been
thinking,
I
wou
ld’v
e
known
that
was
probably
a
bad
idea.
He
stumbled
backward
and
fell.
I
didn’t
wait
until he
got
up.
I
grabbed
my
stuff
and
ran
downstairs,
climbing
into
the
truck
that
waited
for
me.
Pam
sat
in
the
drive
r’
s
seat,
and
I
told
her
to
step
on
it. Liet
came
running after
us,
but
Pam
put
the
truck
into
gear,
and
we
headed
down
the
road.
I
heard
him
calling
my
name
as
we
turned
the
corner.