Life After The Undead (Book 1) (77 page)

Night
crept
in,
and
I
stared
at
the
sky.
All
the
lights
from
the
other
houses
turned
off,
and
the
faint
moans
of
zombies
carried
on
the
wind.
I
shivered
and
stood
to
go
back
inside.
Someone
had
started
a
fire,
and
I
sat
on
the
couch
next
to
it.
I
stared
at
the
flames,
my
eyes
growing
heavy
from
the
heat,
and
I
eventually
fell
asleep.

***

Boots
clumped
on
the
hardwood
floors
and
jerked
me
out
of
my
slumber.
For a
brief
second,
I
thought
I
was
in
the
lookout
tower
with
my
parents.
The
smell
of
bacon
bombarded
my
nostrils,
and
I
turned,
expecting
to
see
my
mother.
When
I
looked
over
the
couch
and
saw
Bill,
realization
of
where
I
was
sank
in.
I sat
up
and
asked
about
Quinn.

Bill
smiled.
“He’s
fine.
Like
I
suspected,
they
were
scratches.”
He
let
out
a
sigh. “Tell you
what,
that
had
to
be
the
scariest
night
of
my
life.”

“Yeah,
but
it
hasn
’t
been
twenty-four
hours
yet. There
still
might
be
the
possibility
that
he
could
change.”

“Nah.
There
weren
’t
any
of
the
warning
signs
like
with
the
others.
He’s
fine.”

My
stomach
unknotted
and
a
weight
lifted
from
my
shoulders.
I
suddenly
realized
I
was
very
hungry.
I
stepped
into
the
kitchen
and
looked
over
Bill
’s
shoulder
as
he
cooked.
I
made
short
work
of
the
eggs,
bacon,
and
coffee
I
was
handed.

After
I
finished,
I
went
outside.
Work
on
the
ranch
continued
as if
nothing ever
happened.
Quinn
stood
by
the
corrals,
and
I
walked
to
him.
His
left
wrist
was
wrapped
in
a
brace,
and
cuts
and
scratches
covered
his
face.
He
smiled
as I
approached. Without
saying
a
word,
I
grabbed
his
face
and
kissed
him
hard
on
the
lips.

As
I
pulled
away,
I
expected
to
see
surprise on
Quinn’s
face,
but
he
just
smiled.
I felt my
face
flush
and
I
went
to
turn
away,
but
he
gently
wrapped
one
arm
around
my
waist
and
the
other
around
my
neck
and
kissed
me
passionately.
My
knees buckled,
and
I
threw
my
hands
around
his
neck
to
keep
from
falling.
Once
he
pulled
away,
I
couldn
’t
catch
my
breath.

“I, uh,
I…” I
took
a
deep
breath.
“I
wanted
to
let
you
know
that
I’
m
glad
you
’r
e
all
right.”

“I
don’t
go
down
that
easily.”

“I’m
glad.”

We
kissed
again.

One
of
the
horses
whinnied and
nudged
Quinn
on
the
shoulder.
He
turned
and
chuckled.

“I should
probably
feed
them.”

He
released
me,
and
I
placed
a
hand
on
the
fence
to
steady
myself.
He
reached
for
the
pitchfork
and
studied
it,
trying
to
figure out
how
he
was
going
to
throw
the
hay.

I
smiled. “Here,
let
me
help
you
with
that.”
  I
reached
for
the
tool,
but
he
moved
it
out
of
my
way.

“I can
figure
out
how
to
do it.”

I
grabbed
his
arm
and
playfully
jerked
the
pitchfork
out
of
his
hand.
“We
don
’t
have
a
year
to
wait.
We
need
to
head
back
out
and
fill the
trucks.
Hopefully
the
zombies
have
left
the
area
so
we
can
get
the
other
truck
running.”
  I
scooped
up
some
hay
and
tossed
it
into the
ho
rse’s
feed
bucket.
“Will
you
be coming
back
out
with
us?”

Quinn
leaned
against
the
fence
and
watched
me
work.
“Of
course.
I
want
to
make
sure
you
’r
e
going
to
be
okay.”

I
rolled
my
eyes.
“I
can
take
care
of
myself.”

“I
know.”

After
we
finished
feeding
the
horses,
we
headed
to
the
house
and
gathered
our
supplies.
Bill
insisted
Quinn
stay
behind
and
heal,
but
he
wouldn
’t
hear it.
The
four
of
us
climbed
into
the
semi
to head
to
the
other
truck.

The
area
was
clear
when
we
arrived,
but
we
hesitated
getting
out.
A
group
of
them
could
be
over
the
hill, in
the
ditches,
or
hiding
inside
the
truck.
I
shuddered
as
I
thought
about
the
creatures
climbing
inside.
Part
of
me
wanted
to
leave
the
vehicle
there,
but
Liet
would
be
extremely
angry
if
I
did. I’d
already
run
away
—
even
though
I
planned
on
going
back
—
and
I
didn
’
t
need
to
add
anything
else
to
his
mood.
The
thought
ran
through
my
mind
that
Quinn
and
I
could
disappear
and
never
return,
but
then
who’d
help
the
workers?