Life After The Undead (Book 1) (37 page)

“We
ran
into
trouble,”
I
explained.

He
scowled.
“What
kind
of
trouble?”

“Well,
zombies.
Is
there
any
other
kind
of
trouble
out
there?”

He took
a
deep
breath
and
folded his
hands
over
his
chest.
“Where
in
the
world
did
you
go
to
run
into
that
kind
of
trouble
with
zombies?”

I
lowered
my
head. “The
Canadian
border.”

“The
border?”
Liet
tried
to
keep
his
voice
calm.
“I
told
you
not
to
go
to
the
border!”
It
was
a
lost
battle.

“We
know,”
Pam
interjected.
“
We
didn’t
have
a
choice. Everything
has
been
picked
clean.”

He
pointed
a
finger
at
her. “In
my
office
now.”
They
turned
and
headed
off.

I
felt
sorry
for
Pam,
but
I
didn
’t
want
to
be
in the
courtroom.
I
went
to
my
room
and
then
climbed
into
the
shower,
wondering
how
bad
Liet
was
chewing
out
Pam.

After
showering and dressing,
I
headed
into
the
kitchen
to
find
something
to
eat.
Liet
sat
on
the
couch
in
the
living
room.
I
opened
the
fridge
and
stared
at
him
out
of
the
corner
of
my
eye.

“Is
everything
all
right?” I asked
cautiously.

“No,
everything
is not all
right.”
 
His
voice
was
soft
with
a
menacing tone
to
it.

My
heart skipped
a
beat.
“Is
there
anything
I
can
do
to
make it
all
right?”

He
glanced
at
me
and
anger
flashed
through
his
eyes.
“No,
the
re’s
not.”
He
stood
and
went
into
my
room.

I
followed
him
and
watched
as
he
took
a
stack
of
CDs
off
my
shelf.

“What
are
you
doing?”
I
squealed.

“Punishing
you. You
disobeyed
me.
You
could
have
been
killed.
I’
m
taking
something
important
to
you
so
you
’l
l
know
how
it
’d
feel
if
I
lost
you.”

I
didn’t
really
understand
his
logic,
I
mean,
they
were
just
CDs,
but
if
it
made
him
feel
better,
fine.
And part of me knew some form of punishment was to be expected.
I
moved
so
he
could
get
by.
I
went
back
to
the
kitchen
and
grabbed
some
food.
I
took
it to
my
room
and
ate,
then
went
to
bed. I was way too tired to deal with Liet.

***

The
next
day,
while
practicing
my
marksmanship
and
beheading techniques,
Pam
found
me in
the
field.

“How
did it
go
last
night?”
she
asked,
interrupting
my
workout.

“Fine.
He
took
some
CDs.
How
did
it
go
with
you?”

“Not
bad.
I
’v
e
been
yelled
at
worse.
He
wasn
’t
so much
worried
about
the
truck as
he
was
about
you.
Once
he
knew
you
were
all
right,
he
calmed
down
a
little
and
listened
to
the
supply
problem.
Took
CDs,
huh?
Tha
t’s
kind
of
weird.”

I
folded
up
my
swords
and
took
a
seat
on
the
ground. “Yeah,
it
was.
I
expected
a
lot
worse.
He said
something about
wanting
me
to
feel
what
it’s
like
to
lose
something
important.
I
don
’t
know.
Whatever.”

Pam
laughed.
“Yeah,
I
don’t
think
he
really
knows
how
to
handle
a
teenager. You
should
feel
lucky.
If
you’d
been
a
worker,
you
’d
be
dead.
The
only
reason
he’s
different
with
you
is
because
you
’r
e
family.”

Her
comment
shocked
me
a
little,
and
I
didn’t
know
what
to
say.
That
couldn
’t
have
been
true.
He
needed
the
workers.
He
couldn
’t
haul
off
and
shoot
them
because
they
angered
him. Could
he?
Pam
motioned
for
me
to
follow
her, and
we
climbed
the
steps
into
the
tower.
We
sat
and
stared
out
over
the
field.
The
wind
shifted
directions
and
blew
smoke
from
the
funeral
pyre
into
our
faces.
My
eyes
watered.

“Well,
in a
way,
I
deserved
it. I
mean,
we
disobeyed
orders.
As
long
as
he
doesn
’t
start
acting
like
he’s
my
dad,
we
should
be
fine.”

“Oh,
you
’d
be
lucky
if
he
started
acting
like
he
was
your
father.
Then
he
might
show
some
restraint.
I
mean,
he’s
your
second
cousin,
which
really
isn’t
a
relation
at
all.
In
many
ways,
that
might
make
things
worse.
He’s
older,
and
he
thinks
he’s
protecting
you,
so
he’ll
go
as
far
as
he
thinks
he
needs
to
in
order
to
make
sure
you
’r
e
safe.”
She
adjusted
in
her
seat.
“I’v
e
seen
it
before.
He
was
in
the
prison
system,
so
the
only
thing
he
knows
is
power.
He
has
it
over
everyone
else
in
this
camp,
why
wouldn
’t
he
have
it
over
you?
The
more
you
question
that
power,
the
angrier
he’s
going
to
get.
You
watch,
he
’l
l
do
strange
things
to
punish
you.”