Life After The Undead (Book 1) (28 page)

Pam
grabbed
my
arm
and
lifted
me
. “Then
maybe
you
’d
better
go
back
to
Florida.
If
you
don’t
learn
to
shoot
and
defend
yourself,
you
’r
e
as
good
as
dead. You
wanna
go
back?”

I
straightened
my
shoulders
and
took
a
shaky
breath.
“No.”

“Maybe
you
should try
this.” 
She
moved
me
within
five
feet
of
the
corpse
and
placed
the
gun
in
my
hand.
“Line
the
sights
up
and
fire.
When
you
’v
e
hit
it
ten
times,
move
back
another
foot.
Keep
doing
that
until
you
run
out
of
bullets
or
you
can
hit
it
every
single
time.”

I
was
getting
to
the
point
where
I
didn
’t
think
anything was
going
to
work,
and I
still
had
some
problems
hitting
the
target,
but
after
a
while,
I
got
the
hang
of
it.
I
was
only
six
feet
away
from
the
corpse,
but I
hit it
every
time.
I
felt
pretty
good.
I
figured
out
the
nuances
of
the
gun,
and
felt
confident
in
my
abilities. Pam
came
down
from
the
tower
about
the
same
time,
and
we
headed
to
the
house
for
lunch.

I
made
us a
pot
of
chili
and
some
grilled
cheese,
and
all
the
girls
ate
greedily.
After
we
finished, I
cleaned
up
the
dishes.
Pam
told
me
she
had
some
things to
do,
so
I
lay
down
and
took
a
nap.
Every
ache
and
pain
became
pronounced,
but
it
was
a
great
feeling.
I
was
much
more
exhausted
than
I
imagined,
and
the
next
thing
I
knew,
she
shook
me
awake.
I
glanced
at
the
clock.
I’d
slept
for
three
hours.
She
told
me
to
follow
her,
and
we
headed
to
the
wall.

“Although
we
have
a
large
cache
of
ammo,
you
can’t
carry
an
infinite
supply. If
you
get
too
deep
into
the
West,
you
’r
e
going
to
run
out.
Once
that
happens,
you
still
have
to
be
able
to
defend
yourself.
Different
people
prefer
different
weapons.
I
personally
like to
keep
a
katana
handy.”
  She
reached
behind
her
back
and
drew
out
a
sword.
“They
’r
e
light
weight
and
have
incredible
slicing
power. You
can
take
the
heads
off
a
hundred
zombies
and
the
blade
never
gets
dull.
You
don
’t
have
to
be
as
accurate with
one
of
these
babies
as
you
do
with
a
gun, but
you
have
to
be
close.”
She
handed
me
the
weapon
.
“There’s
really
no
right
or
wrong
way
to
behead
your
opponent.
I
’v
e
never
been
trained
in
martial
arts,
but
that
doesn
’t
make
the
weapon
any
less
deadly.
The
most
important
thing
is to
be
fast.” 
She
walked
over
to
the
corpse
I’d
riddled with
bullet
holes.
“Go
ahead,
take its
head
off.”

I
gripped
the
handle
in
both
hands
and
planted
my
feet.
I’d
never
handled
a
sword
before,
but
I’d
seen
movies.
It
wasn
’t
the
same
thing,
but
it
was
the
only
example
I
had.
I
swung
the
katana
over
my
right
shoulder
and
at
the
corpse
’s
neck.
It sliced
a
quarter
of
the
way
through before getting stuck
.
I
tried
to
pull
it
out,
but
my
hands
slipped
and
I
fell
backward.
I
caught
myself
before
I
hit
the
dirt.
I
stared
at
Pam.
She
tried
to
hold
back
her
laughter.

“You
can’t
expect
to
get
everything
right
the
first
time.
With
a
little
practice,
you
’l
l
be
able
to
take
a
head
off
in
one
swipe.
Let
me
show
you
some
exercises
to
strengthen
your
upper
body.”

We
worked
together
until
the
sun
started
to
set,
then
we
headed
to
the
house
and
I
prepared
dinner.
After
we
ate,
I
dragged
myself
upstairs
to
take
a
shower.
The
water
felt
good
on
my
sore
muscles,
and
I
stayed
in
long
enough
to
fog
the
mirrors.
Once
I
finished, I
headed
to
my
cot
and
lay
down.

“You
did a
great
job
today,”
Pam
said.
“Tomorrow
you
can rest
and
get
the
house
cleaned
up
a
little
more.”
She
stepped
out
the
door
for her
second
shift
on
the
watchtower.

I
cringed.
I
didn’t
really
want
to
spend
the
day
cleaning,
but
it
was
part
of
the
deal.
I
had
to
hold
up
my
end
of
the
bargain. Plus,
as
sore as
my
arms
were,
I
wasn
’t
sure
I
’d
be
able
to
hold
the
gun.
I
rolled
onto
my
side
and
thought
about
the
lessons I’d
learned.
I
drifted
to
sleep
thinking
about
all
the
zombies
I
was
going
to destroy
with
my
newfound
skills.