Life After The Undead (Book 1) (65 page)

“No,
you
first.
I
want
to
hear
what
you
’v
e
been
doing.”

Pearl
grimaced. “Oh,
not
much
has
changed
since
you
left.
Obviously,
I’m
still
living
in
the
same
place
and
I still
have
the
same
job
, but
I
was
reunited
with
my
uncle.”

“Really?”

Pearl
nodded
enthusiastically.
“Yeah,
my
dad
’s
brother.
It’s
been
great.
We
both
miss
the
rest
of
the
family,
but
at
least
we
have
each
other.”

“What
does
he
do?”

“He
’s
an
electrician.
He
and
his
company
pretty
much
keep
Florida
running.
He’s
hoping
they’ll
approve
our
application
so
we
can
go
with
the
first
wave
and
start
colonizing
the
East
Coast.”

My
forehead
wrinkled
in confusion. “Why
do
you
have
to
apply?
Why
don
’t
you
just
go?”

Pearl
took
a
drink.
“Because
it’s
not
safe.
Just
because
the
majority
of the
zombies
have
migrated
west
that
doesn
’t
mean
all
of
them
have.
The
Families
send
out
crews
to
make
sure
the
cities are
safe,
and
they
come
back
with
reports all
the
time
that
there
are
still
zombies
out
there.
As
soon
as
they
come
back
and
say
it’s
clear,
The
Families
will
send
out
engineers
and
architects
to
rebuild
the
U.S.,
starting
with
the
East
Coast. Tom, my
uncle,
hopes
to
be a
part
of
the
original
colonists.”

It
was
possible
a
few
zombies
lingered
behind,
but
nothing
that
one
person
couldn
’t
handle.
I
couldn’t
believe
it.
Quinn
was
right.
Not
that
I
really
doubted
him,
but
I
had
to
hear
it
with
my
own
ears. Fear
kept
these
people
in Florida.
I
wondered
what
other
lies
they
’d
been
told.

“
Tha
t’s
enough
about
me.
I
want
to
hear
about
you
now.
Tell
me
everything.”

I did.

CHAPTER
16

It
was
almost
midnight
by
the
time
the
three
of
us
went
to
bed.
Pearl
’s
uncle
was
away
on
business,
so
she
insisted
that
Pam
and
I
stay.
We
had
nowhere
else to
go,
so
we
agreed.
The
next
morning
I
stood
out
on
the
balcony,
enjoying
the sun
and
watching
as
the
students
headed
to school.
Pearl
brought
me
a
cup
of
coffee.

“So is it as
bad
as
they
say
it is?”  Pearl
cradled
the
cup
in
her
hands.

“Is
what
as
bad?”
I
blew
on the
coffee
before
taking
a
sip.

“North
Platte.
They
say
zombies
attack
daily,
taking
at
least
three people
with
them.”

I
shrugged.
“Well,
it’s
not
paradise,
for
sure, but
it’s
not
that
bad
either.”

Pearl
shook
her
head.
“I
can’t
even
imagine.
I
know
you
’
ve
been
through
a
lot,
but
I
can
’t
imagine
why
you
stay
out
there.
I
mean,
look
at
you.
You
’v
e
always
been
skinny,
but
you
look
downright
starved.
If
it
weren
’t
for
your
muscles,
I’d
think
you
were
about
to
waste
away
to
nothing!”

I
set
my
cup
down.
“Life
is
difficult,
Pearl,
but
it’s
not
impossible.
Like I
told
you
last
night,
there
are
survivors
on
the
other
side
of
the
wall. You
just
have
to
be
cautious.”

Pearl
shivered.
“I
heard
that
even
if
they
touch
you,
you
become
one
of
them.”

I
got
angry.
Pearl
was
a
smart
girl,
why
was
she
falling
for their
lies?
“Who
told
you
that?”

“The
Families.
They
receive
reports all
the
time
from
North
Platte
and
air
them
on
the
TV
and
radio. It’s
because
of
those
reports
that
I
don
’t
really
want
to
go
colonize
the
East.
I
want
to
stay
here
where
it’s
safe.”

My
eyes
widened.
“You
have
TV
and
radio
down
here?”

“Of
course.
How
do
you
communicate
with
the
world?”

“CB
radios
if
we
’r
e
lucky.”

“So,
it’s
not
true?
How
do
you
turn
into
a
zombie?”

“I
don’t
really
know,
but
I
know
that
it
takes
more
than
a
touch.”

“Have
you
ever
seen
anyone
change?”

I
hesitated.
“No.”

“Then
how
do you
know?”

“Quinn,
the
guy
I
told
you
about
last
night,
has
seen
people
change.
He
says
that it
takes
twenty-four
hours.”

“Then
how
do
you
know
a
touch
won
’t
do
it?”

I put
my
leg
up
on
the
rail
and
pulled
up
my
jeans,
exposing
the
deep
purple
scars
caused
by
the
zomb
ie’s
nails.
“Because
I
was
attacked,
and
I
haven
’t
turned
yet.
That
was
weeks
ago.
Plus,
there
are
these
checks
we
have
to
go
through.
Even
the
doctor
wasn
’t
worried
about
these
marks.”

Pearl
visibly
paled,
and
I
pulled
my
pant
leg
down.
“So,
we
didn’t
really
talk
about
it
last
night because
we
were
busy
catching
up,
but
tell
me
about
these
crews
that
get
sent
out
to
the
cities.”

Pearl
drank
her
coffee. “They
are
basically
cleanup
crews
that
go
in
and
destroy
any
zombies
that
are
still
in
the
area.
According
to
them,
there
is
still
a
serious
threat
out
there.”

I
scowled.
“The
only
zombies
that
are left
behind
were
probably
trapped
in
something.
There
are
no
longer
roving
bands in
the
East.”

“You
don’t
know
that.”

“I
know
a
lot
more
than
you
do.
I
’v
e
been
east,
Pearl.
We
used
to
get
our
supplies
from
there.
Trust
me,
it’s
nothing
like
the
West.”

Pearl
lowered
her
gaze
to
her
coffee,
and
I
stared
out
at
the
horizon.
I
set
my
jaw.
I
wasn
’t
really
mad
a
t her,
but
I
was
frustrated
that
she
took
The
Families’
word
as
gospel.
I
guessed
following
them
blindly was
better
than
actually
living
her
life.
That
required
risks,
and
risks
could
be
scary.
I
knew
she
wasn
’t
the
only
one.
There
were
a
lot
of
people
out
there
who
believed
everything
they
were
told.
There
had
to
be
or
else
society
couldn
’t
function.
If
everyone
was
a
leader,
there
would
be
constant
wars. Followers
kept
the
world
balanced.
It
was
too
bad
they
were
following
the
wrong
leaders.