Life After The Undead (Book 1) (31 page)

He
wrapped
his
arms
around
my
shoulders
and
pulled
me
into
a
tight
hug.
He
released
me
and
smiled.
“I’l
l
see
you
tomorrow.”

I
sucked
in
the
breath
he’d
crushed
out
of
me
and
mumbled
something not
even
I
could
understand.
Liet
walked
back
to
the
vehicle,
which
disappeared
down
the
street.
I
went
to
my
cot before I
pulled
on
my
pajamas
. My
head
swam
with
the
events
that
had
just
happened.

I
didn’t
begrudge
Liet
for
his
absence
the
last
few
days.
After
all,
he
was
busy.
He
was
trying
to
organize
workers
and
build
a
wall
, but I
did
find
his
approach
to
our
relationship
a
bit
disconcerting.
I
wasn
’t
really
one
for
hugs,
especially
from
a
guy
I
didn’t
really
know.
Yeah,
he
was
family,
but
I
didn’t
know
him.
He
was
still
a
stranger
with
a
creepy
past.

I
should
have
been
fascinated
by
Liet.
He
was
the
guy
I
wanted
to
grow
up and
study, but
he
scared
me.
Partly
it
was
the
ex-con
thing
and
part
of
it
was
something
I
couldn
’t
pin
down.
Something
in
his
eyes
and
sneer.
Bundy
and
Manson
had
the
same
look in
their
eyes.
It
would
have
been
easy
to say
it
was
insanity
or pure
evil,
but
there
was
more to
it
than
that.
I
didn’t
know.
Despite
all
that,
things
were
changing,
and
a
lot
of
it
was
because
of
his
initiative.
Even
though
he
wasn
’t
there
to
teach
me
to
fight,
I
was
still
learning,
and I
’d
still
be
able
to
take
care
of
myself.
At
least I
had
something
to
look
forward
to.
I
drifted
to
sleep
for
the
first
time
in
two
years
thinking
there
might
actually
be some
hope
for the
future.

CHAPTER
8

A
month
after
coming to
North
Platte,
I
moved
out
of
the
women
’s
house
and
into
Liet’s
place.
He’d
remodeled the
top
floor
of
the
courthouse
to
be his
very
own
apartment.
It
was
three
times
the
size
of the
house,
and
he
had
maids,
so
I
didn
’t
have
to
clean
anything
if
I
didn
’t
want
to.
I
had
my
own
room
with
a
bathroom,
and
was
able
to
set
up
a
stereo
system
with
CDs I
got
from
a
local
store.
I
decorated
my
room
the
way
I liked, and I
finally
felt as if I
had
a
space
that
was
all
mine
.
It
’d
been
a
long
time
since
I
had
anything
that was just for me
.
The
last
thing
I’d
owned
was
my
iPod,
and
it
would
be
worthless
in
North
Platte,
so
I’d
given
it
to
Pearl. Even
having
CDs
was
frivolous,
especially
since
electricity
was
spotty
at
best. Rolling
blackouts
would
have
been
a
luxury,
but
we
made
do.
My
room
became
my
place
of
normalcy,
and
I
cherished
it.

The
town
was
going through
several
changes
also.
More
workers
were
brought
to
the
site
from
Florida,
and
the
tents
that
housed
the
workers
were
being
replaced
with
shanties.
All
the
lumber
and
houses
in
the
town
that
couldn
’t
be
salvaged
were
re
used
to
build
better
protection
against
the
elements.
Liet
was
frustrated
that
building
the
houses
took
the
focus
away
from
the
wall,
but
he
didn’t
want
a
wo
rker’
s
riot
on
his
hands,
so
he
didn
’t
say
much.

The
fence
itself hadn
’t
progressed
far.
A
few
yards
of
chain
-
link
fence
had
been
erected,
but
not
much
else.
The
workers
were
so
busy
hauling
bodies
to
the
fire
and
building
their
houses
they
didn’t
have
time
for
anything
else.
Liet
was
sure
that
would change
in
the
coming
year.
He
vowed
he
’d
encourage
the
workers
to
get
the
wall
finished
within
five
years, but
with
all
his
good
intentions,
it
came
down
to a
matter
of
supplies,
and
we
were
running
out.

I sat in
the
jury
box
and
watched
as
Liet
looked
over
some
reports.
Pam
and
a
few
other
soldiers
stood
in
front
of
him and
waited.
I
didn
’t
really
have
any
duties in
North
Platte,
so
I
drifted
wherever
I
wanted.
Most
of
the
time
I
followed
Pam
around
and
helped
her,
but
occasionally
I
watched
Liet.
That
got
boring
pretty
fast,
so
I
practiced
shooting. Having Pam and Liet in the room had the potential for something exciting to happen, and I wanted to be there.

“How
did
we
go
through
this
much
food?”
  He
glanced
at
the
soldiers
and
waited
for
an
answer.

Pam
cleared
her
throat.
“Um, I
think
we
underestimated
the
amount
of
children.
There
were
a
lot more
families in
this
last
group.”

“It looks like
people
are
eating
too
much.
Ration
their
food.”

Confusion covered Pam’s face
.
“Excuse
me,
sir?”

He
slammed
his
fist
onto
his
desk. “You
heard
me!
Ration
their
food.
Anyone
who
protests
will
be
shot
on
sight.”

Liet’s
stress
levels
had
been
through
the
roof
lately.
The
pressures
of
leadership
were
getting
to
him.
I
hoped
he
really
didn’t
want
soldiers
to
shoot
innocent
people,
but
I
never
knew
with him.

Fear replaced the confusion. “Yes,
sir.”

He
glanced
at
another
piece
of paper.
“You
’ve
got
to
be
kidding me.
How
is this possible?”
He
turned
it
toward
the
soldiers.
“They
’ve
gone through
their
concrete
supply
already?
What
are
they
doing?”

“They
’v
e
been
using
it
to
create
or
repair
the
foundations
for
their
houses,
sir.”
Pam’s
voice
was
barely
over
a
whisper.

Liet
slammed
the
paper
down.
“They
’r
e
more
concerned
about
their
comfort
than
they
are
in
keeping
the
zombies
out. If
one
more
person
uses
my
construction
supplies
for
personal
use,
they
will
be
shot
on sight
!”

“Yes,
sir.
In
the
meantime,
what
do
you
want
us
to
do
about
the
supplies?”

“Get an
excursion
team
together.
See
what
you
can
find in
the
abandoned
cities.”

The
soldiers
responded
with
a
“Yes,
sir,”
in
unison
before heading
out
of
the
courtroom.
Well, I was right about it being exciting, but it was also a little more disturbing than I would have liked.
Liet
sat
heavily
in his chair
and
buried
his
face
in
his
hands.
I walked
to him
and
placed
a
hand
on
his
shoulder.
Things
were
getting
a
little
better
between
us,
and
he
didn’t
scare
me
as
much
anymore.
He
didn
’t
have
anyone
else,
so
I
thought
I
’d
show
him
some
empathy.
He
violently
brushed
it
off.