Life After The Undead (Book 1) (62 page)

Pam
glanced in the rearview mirror, then at me
.
“What
was
that
all
about?”

I
leaned
my
head
back
on
the
seat,
closed
my
eyes,
and
took
a
deep
breath.
“He
thinks
I’
m
dating
Quinn.”

“And?”

“We
got
into
a
fight
about
it
and
I
hit
him.”

“What?
Why?”

“I
don’t
know.
It
just
happened.
He
grabbed
my
shirt
and
I hit
him
in
the
mouth.
It
was
a
reaction.
He
thinks
he
’s
my
father.
He
thinks
he
can
control
me.
He
can’t.”

“You
might
want
to
think
about
getting
that
temper
of
yours
under
control.”

I
didn’t
answer.
Maybe
Liet
needed
to
think
about
treating
others
with
respect.
Maybe
I hit
him
for all those
who
wanted
to
but
couldn
’t.
Maybe
if
he
wasn
’t
so
creepy
and
I
didn’t
feel
as if
my
life
was
in
jeopardy
every
time
he
came
into
the
room,
I
wouldn
’t
have
to
punch
him.

After a
few
minutes,
Pam asked,
“Well,
are
you?”

I raised
my
head
and
stared
in
disbelief. “Dating
Quinn?
No.”

Pam
shrugged. “Well,
you
should
be.”

“Why?”

“He
seems like a
nice
kid.
And
you
deserve
to
be
happy.
Do
you
like Quinn?”

I
frowned.
“I’v
e
never
really
thought
about
it.”
Of
course
I
thought
about
it.
All
the
time,
but
I
wasn
’t
going
to
let
Pam
know
that.
I
wasn
’t
comfortable
talking
to
her
about
my
personal
life.
Besides,
Quinn
made
it
pretty
clear
he
wasn
’t
interested.

“Well,
from
what
I
can
tell,
there’s
a
lot
there
to
like.
He’s
tall,
handsome,
and
caring.”

I
shook
my
head.
“I
don
’t
even
think
he
’s
interested
in
me.”

“Have
you
asked
him?”

“So,
why
did
you
send
that soldier
into
the
zombie
wastelands?”
I
was
desperate
to
change
the
subject.

“Did
you
find
Jerry?
How
’s
he
doing?”

“Yeah,
we
found
him
, but
you
’r
e
lucky
we
did.
Anything
could
have
happened
to
him,
you
know.”

Pam
smiled.
“I
knew
you
weren
’t
far
behind.
I
told
him
if
he
stuck
to
the
highway,
he
’d
be
fine.”

“Why
didn
’t
you
kill
him
like
you
were
ordered
to?”

Pam
pressed her lips into a thin line and glared at me.
“Because
he
didn
’t
do
anything
wrong.”

“Yeah,
but
you
’v
e
killed
workers
for
less.”

Pam
focused
back
on
the
road. “Have
I?
Have
you
ever
seen
me kill
a
worker?”

I
thought
for a
moment.
When
was
the
last
time
I
saw
Pam
kill
someone?
Had
I
ever?
I
couldn
’t
remember
any
particular
instances,
and
then
my
stomach
turned.
I
stared
at
her.

“So
instead
of
killing
the
people
you
were
ordered
to
kill,
you
set
them free
to
possibly
be
devoured
by
zombies?
How
is that
better
than
a
quick,
painless
bullet
to
the
head?
You
’r
e
sentencing
them
to
death
either
way.”

“Maybe
, but
at
least
this
way
they
have
a
fighting
chance. You
know
as
well
as I do
that
there
are
groups
of
people
in
the
West
who
have
survived.
Maybe
they
have
too.
My
hope is
that
they
find
these
groups
and
live
long
prosperous
lives.”

I
shook
my
head,
averting
my
gaze
out
the
window.
Did
Pam
really
believe
that
life
was
so much
better
on
the
other
side
of
the
wall?
It
was
tough
in
North
Platte,
there
was
no
denying
that,
but
at
least
they
had
weapons.
She
sent
them
into
the
world
unarmed
with
the
hope
that
someone
would
pick
them
up.
I
knew
from
firsthand
experience
that
groups
in
the
West
were
very
particular
about
letting
outsiders
in. I
hoped
Pam
was
right
and
they
fell
in
with
a
crowd
like
Quinn’s
that
was
willing
to
help.

“What
did
you
want
me
to
do?”
There
was
an
accusatory
tone
to
her
voice.

I
turned
to
face
her.
“I
don’t
know.
Maybe
you
should
have
tried
to
stand
up
to
Liet.”

“Then
I
would
have
been
the
one
with
a
bullet
in
my
head.
At
least
I’m
trying.
At
least
I’m
not
running
away.”

“Running
away?
Is
that
what
you
think
I’m
doing? I’m
trying
to
do
my
part
for
society.
Besides,
you
don’t
live
with
Liet.
If
you
did,
you
’d
take
every
opportunity
to
get
as
far
away
from
him
as
possible.”