Life After The Undead (Book 1) (70 page)

“Thank
you.”

I still
waited
for
him
to
blow
up at any
minute.
It
was
possible
he’d
cooled
off
in
the
few
days
we
’d been
gone,
but it
was
always
hard to tell
with
Liet.

I
walked
toward
the
courthouse,
my
mind
already
lying
on my
pillow
and
my
body
snuggled
under
the
covers.
Liet
fell
into
step
with
me.

“I
assume
your
trip
went
well?”

My
vision
of
heaven
cracked,
and
I
glanced at him out of the corner of my eye.
“It
was
fine.
They
said
some
new
recruits
will
be
coming
in
the
next
couple
weeks.”

“They
better.
We’re
running
real
low
on
quality
workers.”

I stared
at
him,
hoping
he
’d
burst
into
flames.
“Maybe
it’s
not
the
quality
of
worker,
maybe
it’
s
the
quality
of
leadership.”

I
figured
by
that
point
in
time
if
he
hadn
’t
gotten
angry,
he
probably
wasn’t
going
to.
I
was
exhausted,
and
everything
he said
and
every
breath
he
took
grated
on
my
nerves.
I
didn’t
care
how
angry
I
made
him
anymore,
because
I
had
a
way
out.

Liet
narrowed
his
eyes
to slits.
“If
you
were
in my
shoes,
what
would
you
do
differently?”

“Maybe
try
to show
a
little
compassion.”

“Compassion?”
Liet
spit
the
word
out
like
venom. “Do
you
think
the
pyramids
were
built
with
compassion?
Or
the
Great
Wall
of
China?
Compassion
gets
you
nowhere.”

“Yeah,
well,
slave
driving
doesn’t
seem
to
be
getting you
anywhere
either.”

“There
is
no
happy
medium,
Krista.
It’s
either
the
hard
way
or the
highway.”

I
rolled
my
eyes
and
hurried
to
the
apartment.
I
wanted
to
stay
and
argue,
maybe
claw
his
eyes
out,
but
that
would
get
me
nowhere.
I
would
have
my
chance
soon
enough.

I took
a
hot
shower.
The
water
felt
good
as it
splashed
on
my
back.
Once
I
finished,
I
dressed
in
sweats
and then
climbed
into
bed.
The
soft
pillow
enveloped
my
head,
and
I
instantly
fell
asleep.
I
dreamed
that
I
was
back
at
Quinn
’s
ranch.
The sun was bright and warmed the day to the perfect temperature.
We
rode
the
horses
through
the
field. The scent of pine trees tickled my nostrils. I glanced at Quinn. He smiled. I wanted to reach out and hold his hand.
Suddenly,
the
cows
stampeded.
I turned my gaze to them and tightened my grip on the reins.
We
couldn
’t
do
anything,
so
we
moved
out
of
the
way
and
watched
as
the
animals
streamed
by.
After
the
cows
entered
the
canyon
and
the
dust
settled,
we
noticed
a
group
of
zombies
following
them.
I tried
to
get
my
horse
to
move,
but
its
hooves
had
sunk
down
into
the
dirt. I
turned
to
Quinn.
His
mouth
was
open
in
a silent
scream,
and
half-rotted
hands
pulled
him
off
his
horse.
He
reached
for
me,
and
I
tried
to
grab
him,
but
a
zombie
jumped
in
between
us
and
bit
my
arm.
I
pulled
it
back
in
surprise.
My
heart stopped
for a
brief
second
when
I
noticed
Dad
standing before
me.
Someone
grabbed
me
from behind
and
pulled
me
to
the
ground. Mom
chewed
my
hair,
and
Dad
moved
forward
to bite
my
neck.

I jerked
awake.
My chest heaved. It was painful to catch my breath. My heart pounded against my ribcage. I
went
to
the
bathroom
and
splashed
water
onto
my
face.
Taking deep breaths, I slowed my breathing to normal, and my heart stopped pounding.
On
my
way
back to
bed,
someone
sat
in
the
chair
on
the
opposite
side
of
the
room. My heart leapt into my throat. My breath caught.
I
clicked
on
my
lamp. It
was
Liet. My fear lessened, but only slightly.

“What
are
you
doing
in
here?”

How long had he been in there?

He
steepled
his
fingers
and
took
a
deep
breath.
“I
was
born
and
raised
in
Oregon
and
lived
there
until
I
was
fifteen.”

I took
a
seat
on
the
edge
of
the
bed.
“I
know.
We
talked
about
this in
the
truck on
the
way
up
here. Remember?”

“After my
fifteenth
birthday,
my
mom
divorced
my
dad.
She
claimed
it
was
because
he
drank
too
much,
but
the
real
problem
was
her.
She
didn
’t
like
to
stay
faithful.
My
dad
was
a
trucker,
so
he
was
gone
a
lot. My
mom
claimed
to
get
lonely,
so she
found
other
men
to
keep
her
company.

“The
court
asked
me
who
I
wanted
to
live
with,
and
I
told
them
my
father, but
because
of
his
profession,
they
wouldn
’t
allow
it.
I
had
to
stay
with
my
mom.
We
moved
to
Louisiana
right
after
the
family
reunion.
My
dad
told
me
he’d
come
visit
me all
the
time,
take
me
on
his
trips
when
he
could.
Since
the
school
year
was
starting,
he
said
he’d
see
me
at
Christmas.
He
never
showed
up.
When
I
called,
he
told
me
things
were
too
crazy
at the
moment,
so
we
’d
have
to
wait
until
things
settled
down.
He
told
me
that
for
two
years.
By
the
time
I
was
eighteen,
he
quit
promising
to
come
get
me.