Life After The Undead (Book 1) (51 page)

“The
wall
has barely
extended
outside
the
city
limits,”
Bill
exclaimed.
“And I
know
all
those
bodies
on
the
fire
are
not
zombies.”

“What
are
they
even
doing about
the
zombies?”
Kyle
asked.

There
was
a
long
period
of
silence.

“We
knew
it
was
going
to
be
bad
when
we
came
here,”
Quinn
spoke,
but
then
his
voice
trailed
off,
and
I
couldn
’t
hear
what
he
was
saying.

I
climbed
out
of
bed
and
walked
to
the
door. Cautiously,
I
opened
it
and
peered
out.

“We
need
a
contact.
Someone
on
the
inside
who’ll distribute
the
guns.
Was
there
anyone
in
the
town
who
could
possibly
fit
that
profile?”

Bill
shook
his
head.
“They
’r
e
all
so
afraid
of
the
soldiers
they
barely
wipe
their
noses
without
getting
permission
first.”

“What
about
Krista?”
Kyle
asked.

“I
wouldn
’t
count
on
her
. She’s
related
to
Liet,”
Quinn
explained.

“So?
How
exactly
are they
related?
Not
everyone
enjoys
their
relatives.”

“Keep
looking.
Someone
has
to
turn
up.”

I closed
the
door
and
then
leaned
against
the
wall.
What
were
they
planning
on
doing?
Surely
they
weren
’t
going
to
destroy
the
wall.
That
was
the
only
thing
protecting
us
from
the
undead.
Just
because
they
were
suited
to
living
in
the
West
that
didn
’t
mean
everyone
was.
And
why
did they
need
to
distribute
guns?
The
soldiers
had
them, and
they
protected
the
workers,
wasn
’t
that
enough?

Life
in
North
Platte
wasn
’t
ideal,
but
it
was
necessary.
If
they
wanted
to
repopulate
the
East,
they
had
to
wall off
the
West.
Things
were
bad,
yeah,
but
they
didn’t
have
the
supplies.
Liet
was
doing
the
best
he
could.
I
shivered.
Did
I just
defend
him?

Good
thing
no
one
could
read
my
thoughts.
I
didn’t
agree
with
everything
Liet
did,
but
we
all
had
to
make
sacrifices.
I
believed
that
when
all
was
said
and
done,
the
people
who’d
built
the
wall would
be
honored
as
heroes.
After
all, it
was
their
hard
work
and
dedication
that
would
make
life in
the
East
possible.

I took
a
deep
breath and
changed
into
some
clothes.
I
headed
into
the
living
room.
The
guys
smiled
at
me,
and
I
nodded
in
their
direction.
I
went
into
the
kitchen
and
poured
a
cup
of
coffee.
The
guys
went
back
to
what
they
were
doing—
Kyle
read
a
magazine,
Bill
cleaned
his
gun,
and
Quinn
patched
a
hole in
his
shirt.
I
leaned
against
the
counter
and
watched.
They
looked
so
normal.
For a
brief
moment,
I
wondered
if
I
’d
dreamed
the
whole
conversation.

I
finished
my
cup
of
coffee.
“I
have
some
things
I
need
to
do
to
get
ready
to
leave.”

“Okay.”
Quinn
smiled.

I
paused
with
my
hand
on
the
doorknob
and
stared
at
him
for a
second.
The
corners
of
my
mouth
twitched
into
a
small smile
.
I
headed
out
the
door.

It
was
late
afternoon
as
I walked
through
the
streets
of
North
Platte.
The
morning
shift
had
finished
and
headed
to
their
homes.
Their
clothes
were
covered
in mud
or
soot
from
the
fire,
but
their
skin
was
clean.
They’d
just
endured
the
showers,
and
I
pitied
them.
They
looked utterly
exhausted. They
dragged
their
feet
over
the
broken
asphalt.
Soldiers
lined
the
streets
and
watched
the
procession
go
by.
One
of
the
men
from
the
crowd
stopped
to
ask
a
question,
and
the
soldier
told
him
to
keep
moving.
When
he
refused,
the
soldier
drove
the
butt
of
his
gun
into
the
wo
rker’
s
stomach.
He
doubled
over,
but
before
he
could
hit
the
ground,
two
more
soldiers
grabbed
him
by
the
arms
and
ushered
him
to
the
courthouse.
I
watched
for a
few
seconds
before
stepping
into
the
female
soldie
r
s’
house.

Pam
sat
at
the
table,
eating
an
apple
and
reading
a
newspaper.
She
smiled
as
I
walked
in.

“Hey,
check this
out. Just
got
it
from
Florida
this
morning.”
Pam handed
me
the
newspaper.

I
glanced
at
the
headline,
Zombie
Threat
Gets
Worse
,
briefly
before sitting
across
from
Pam.
I
folded my
arms
on
the
table.