Life After The Undead (Book 1) (66 page)

Not
that
I
thought
Quinn
and
his
friends
were
necessarily
better,
but
at
least
their
plan
called
for
action.
They
weren
’t
driven
by
power
but
a
desire
to
see
the
human
race
survive.
That
was
at
least
a
noble
cause.
Could
The
Families
claim
that?

“So,” I
interrupted
the
silence,
“when is
Tom
supposed
to
be
back?”

“Oh,
he
won
’t
be
back
for
a
couple
days.
One
of the
transformers
in
Miami
went
down,
so
he
’l
l
be
there
until
it’s
fixed.”

“When
are
you
hoping
to
head
to
Georgia?
I
mean,
when
is
he?”

Pearl
stared
at
me,
a
small smile
on
her
face.
“He
wants
to
go
as
soon
as
possible,
but
I’
m trying
to
postpone
it.
I
want
to
stay
here
where
it’s
safe.
He’s
my
uncle,
so
what
can
I
say?”

I
turned
back
to
my
cup.
Pearl
hadn
’t
changed
at
all
since I’d
left.
It
became
painfully
apparent
we
didn’t
have
anything
in
common,
and
that
I
couldn
’t
count
on
my
friend
to
help
distribute
the
firearms.
We
were
going
to
have
to
figure
something
else
out,
but
I
didn’t
know
what,
and
I
was
sure
Liet
wouldn
’t
let
me
come
back
to
Florida.

A soft
knock
resounded
through
the
room,
and
Pearl
went
to
answer
the
door.
While
she
was
gone,
Pam
joined
me
on
the
balcony.
We
looked
at
each
other,
but
didn’t
say
a
word.
Pearl
returned
a
few
minutes
later
and
told
us
Olivia
was
ready
to
open
her
package.

I
handed
her
the
coffee
mug. “Well,
I
suppose
we
’d
better
get
down
there.
Thanks
for
everything.”

Pearl
looked
shocked.
“You
’r
e
leaving?
I
was
hoping
you
could
stay
a
couple
days
and I
could
take
you
around
and
show
you
the
new
Florida.”

I
grimaced.
“Unfortunately,
we
have
to
get
back.
Liet is
short-handed.”

Pearl
raised
her
eyebrows.
“I
can’t
believe
you’re
going
back
to
that
awful
place.”

“We
all
do
what
we
have
to do.”

Tears
formed
in
Pearl
’s
eyes.
“I’l
l
miss
you.”
She
stepped
forward
and
embraced
me.

I
wrapped
my
arms
around
my
friend
and
laid
my
chin
on
Pearl
’s
shoulder.
“I’ll
miss
you
too.”

That
wasn
’t
a
lie.
I
did
miss
sitting
up
and
talking
to
her.
I
thought
if
I
could
tell
anyone
about
Quinn
and
my
feelings,
it
’d
be
her. I
also
knew
it
wouldn
’t
take
long
for
us
to
run
out
of things
to
talk
about.
She
had
her
vision
of
the
future
and
I
had
mine.
It
was
a
shame
they
weren
’t
the
same.
We
let
each
other
go.

“If
you
’r
e
ever
back
in
Florida,”
Pearl
wiped
the
tears
from
her
eyes,
“make
sure
you
look
me
up.”

I
smiled.
“I
will.”

Pam
and
I
went
downstairs
where
we
met
Olivia
and
her
entourage
in
the
lobby.
Walking
to
the
semi,
I
opened
the
back.
Olivia
smiled
with
satisfaction.

“I
believe
the
other
families can
be
persuaded
to
fulfill
Lie
t’s
request.”
She
snapped
her
fingers,
and
her
men
got
to
work
unloading
the
trailer. “You
can
expect
them
in
the
next
couple
weeks.”

“I’m
sure
Liet
will
be
ecstatic.”

Olivia
smiled,
then
headed
back
into
the
hotel.

As
Pam
and
I
watched
the
men
work,
I
heard
someone
call
my
name. I
turned
and
scanned
the
area,
and
a
girl
with
blonde hair
ran
toward
me.
I
stared in
disbelief.

“Krista,
is
that
really
you?”

“Tanya?”

Tanya
giggled.
“Yeah,
it’s
me.
What
are
you
doing
here?”

I
was
stunned,
and
it
took
me
a
minute to
collect
my
thoughts.
“We
’r
e
dropping
off
some
supplies.”

Tanya
continued
to
smile.
“I
know,
I
know,
you
’r
e
surprised
I
’
m
speaking
to
you.”

I
nodded. “Yeah,
a
little.”

“All
of
that
stuff
that
happened
at school is
in
the
past.
Things
have
changed
since
you
’v
e
been
gone.
How
’s
everything
going?”

“Fine.”

“Oh,
we
really
should
catch
up.
When
you
’r
e
finished
here,
do
you
want
to
meet
me
at
the
coffee
shop
over
there?”
She
pointed
across
the
street.