Life After The Undead (Book 1) (44 page)

“Would
you
feel
better
if
I
stayed
with
you?”

“No,”
I
answered
quickly.
Perhaps
a bit
too quickly
because
Quinn
took
a
step
back
and
held
up
his
hands.
“I’l
l
be
fine.”

“Okay.
I’m
in
the
cell
right
next
to
you
if
you
need
anything.”

I
entered
the
cell,
closing
the
door behind me.
I
twisted
the
wire
around
the
bars
and
made
one
last
check
of
the
hall.
I
climbed
into
bed,
setting
my
gun
on
my
chest.
I
stared
at
the
door
for
a long
time
before
eventually
falling
asleep.

CHAPTER
11

A soft
thumping
broke
me
from
my
dreamless
sleep.
I rolled
over
and
placed
the
pillow
over my
head.
For
a
brief
second,
I
thought
I
was
back
home
and
Mom
knocked
on
the
door
to
wake
me
for
school.
Then
I
remembered
where
I
was
and
sat
straight
up
in
bed.
As
the
effects
of
sleep
wore
off,
I
realized
the
thumping
was
a
pounding
and it
came
from
the
stair
doors.
I
rushed
to
the
cell
door,
my
gun
in
my
hand,
and
untwisted
the
wire.
My
heart
felt as if
it
beat
in
my
ears,
and
I
hoped
I
wouldn
’t
run
into
anything
rotting in the
hall.
I
glanced
around
the
corner
and
noticed
the
guys,
so I
joined
them.

“Started
a
few
minutes
ago,”
Quinn
said.

“How
many
are
there?”

Bill
shrugged.
“Hard to
say.
Could
be
one,
could
be
ten.”

“What
are
we
going
to
do?” 
It
annoyed
me
that
the
guys
looked
so
calm.
There
was
nothing
to
be
calm
about.
Yeah,
the
creatures
couldn
’t
get
in,
but
we
also
couldn’t
get
out.
There
was
one
door,
and
corpses
blocked
it.

“We
’r
e
going
to
have
some
breakfast,
then
we
’r
e
going
to
leave.”
Quinn
turned
to
his
bag
and
pulled
out
a
propane-fueled
burner.
He
grabbed
some
cans
of
hash
and
opened
them
into
a
pan.

I stared
after
them
as
they
made
themselves
comfortable
around
the
admissions
desk.
I
wanted
to
scream,
pull
my
hair,
something,
to
get
them
to
realize
the
danger
we
were
in.

“They
’r
e
not
going
to
get
in,”
Kyle
reassured
me.
“C
’m
on.
Have
something
to
eat.”

I
fought
back
the
urge
to
shake
him.
He
hadn’t
spoken
two
words
to
me
the
day
before,
and
now
he
was
trying
to reassure
me?
With
who
knows
how
many
zombies
at
the
door?
  How
did
they
know
the
zombies
weren
’t
going
to
get
in?
If
there
were
enough
of
them,
and
they
pounded
for
long
enough,
they
might
get
in.
I
didn
’t
know
a
lot
about
the guys,
but
I
thought
they
were
crazy.
Either
that
or on
drugs.
Either
way,
they
freaked
me
out.

The
smell of
salty
meat
and
potatoes
reached
my
nostrils,
and
my
basic
needs
took
over.
I
took
a
deep
breath
and
stepped
up
to
the
desk.
Quinn
handed
me
a
plate
and
fork,
and
I
ate
greedily.
After
we
finished,
we
sat
silently
for a
moment.
The
pounding
still
echoed
through
the
room,
but it
lost
some
strength.

Kyle
leaned
back in
his
seat
and
rubbed
his
stomach.
“Do
we
have
anything
else?
I’m
still
hungry.”

“Yeah,”
Bill
said. “I
could
eat
some
more.”

My
stomach
still
growled,
and
I
nodded
my
agreement.

Quinn
pulled
out
two
cans
of
beef
stew
to
heat
them.
As it
cooked,
I
took
a
seat.
I
figured
if
we
were
going
to
be
trapped,
might
as
well
be
comfortable.
He handed
me
my
plate
full
of
food. I
burned
my
mouth
as I
shoveled
in
the
contents.
I
cursed
under
my
breath,
and
Kyle
handed
me
a
bottle
of
water.
I
took
a
quick
drink
and
turned
back
to
my
food.
After
a
few
minutes, I
realized
the
guys
stared
at
me.

“What?”

They
averted
their
gaze
to
their
plates.

“What?”

Kyle
chuckled.
“I
haven
’t
seen
anyone
eat
like
that
since
I
was
fourteen.”

I
rolled
my
eyes. “You
guys
are eating
just as
much
as I
am.”

“Yeah,
but
not
as
fast,”
exclaimed
Bill. “Are
you
even
chewing?”

I set
down
my
empty
plate.
“How
are
we
going
to
get
out
of
here?
They
’
ve
blocked
our
only
exit.”

Quinn
forked
a
hunk
of
meat
into
his
mouth. “No,
they
haven
’t.
That’s
the
beautiful
thing
about
jails.
The
re’s
always
a
hidden
set
of stairs
the
guards
can
use
in
case
of
an
emergency.”

I
glanced
at
each
of
them,
convinced
they
were
messing
with
me.
“Oh,
yeah,
then
where
is
it?”

Quinn
pointed
at
the
floor
by
his
feet.
“Didn
’t
you
notice
the
brass
ring?”

I
looked
where
he
indicated,
and
sure
enough,
there
was
a
brass
ring
and
the
faint
outline of
a
door.
I cursed
myself
in
my
mind.
I
should
have
been
more
observant.
One
of
the
first rules
Pam
had
taught
me
about
going
into
any
situation
was
to know
where
the
escape
routes
were.
I
handed
the
plate
to
Quinn
and
waited
for
them
to
finish.