Life After The Undead (Book 1) (72 page)

I
wiped
my
face
as I
headed
to
the
truck.
Every
fiber
of
my
being
was
grossed
out.
I
’d
rather
have
endured
an
entire
day
of
inspection
showers
in
the
dead
of
winter
than
have
to
experience
that
again.
I
almost
preferred
that
he
’d
have
hit
me.
This
killing
me
with
kindness
crap
was
killing
me.
I
visibly
shuddered
when
Liet
followed
me.

“Quinn,
you
’d
better
take
good
care
of
her.
She
’s
all
the
family
I
have
left.”
  He
winked
and
then
closed
my
door.

I
turned
to
Quinn,
hoping
he
could
somehow
take
the
ickiness
away.

“What’s
that
all
about?”

“He
thinks
you
and
I
are
dating.
I
think
he’s
trying
to
show
he
’s
the
dominant
male.”

Quinn
chuckled.
He
thought
I
was
joking,
so I
stared
at
him.

The amused look dropped from Quinn’s face. “Seriously?”

I
nodded.

Quinn
glanced
out
the
window
at Liet,
then
turned
on
the
engine.
“Why
would
he
think
that?”

I
shrugged.
“Your
guess
is as
good
as
mine.”

Quinn
went
to
put
the
truck
into
gear
when
gunshots
echoed
through
the
streets.
We
looked
at
each
other.

“That
sounded
close,”
I
said.

We
glanced
out
the
window
and
watched
a
soldier
run
up
to
Liet.
His
arms
flailed
as
he
explained
what
was
going
on.
Liet’s
face
turned
red
as he
yelled
at
the
man
and
pointed
to
something
behind
him.
My
stomach
knotted,
and
I
pushed
open
the
door.

“What’s
going
on?”

Liet
stared
at
me
for a
moment,
his jaw
clenched.
More
shots
were
fired,
followed
by
a
loud
boom.
I
fell
to
my
knees
and
covered
my
ears.

“We
’v
e
got
zombies
in
the
city.”

CHAPTER
18

I
followed
Liet
and
some
other
soldiers
to
the
wo
rker
s’
housing
a
few
blocks
away.
A
small
fire
raged
in
the
front
yard
of
one
of
the
houses,
and
several
soldiers
fired into a
crowd
of
five
zombies—a
male
and
female,
both
looked
as if
they
were
in
their
early
thirties,
and
three
kids
ranging
in
age
from
six
to
fifteen.
I
was
sure
they’d
just
turned—their
skin
hadn
’t
had
the
chance
to
decompose.
The
only
indication
they
were
undead
was
their
pale
skin,
sunken
eyes,
and
unseeing stare.
My
best
guess
was
that
someone
in
the
family
had
been
infected,
brought
it
back,
and
infected
everyone
else. I
pulled
my
weapon.
Liet
surveyed
the
scene
with
his
hands
on
his hips
and
a
scowl on his face
.

The
zombies
were
taken
down
quickly,
and
a
few
soldiers
worked
on
putting
out
the
fire.
I
holstered
my
weapon.
Quinn,
Bill,
and
Kyle
headed
to the
scene.
I
took
one
step
forward
when
something
grabbed
my
hair.
At
first, I thought
it
was
the
wind
or
maybe
someone
running by,
but
when
they
started
pulling,
that
made
me
angry.
I
reached
over
my
head
and
grabbed
the
person
’s
wrists.
I
went
to
throw them
over
my
shoulder,
to
teach
them
a
lesson
about
grabbing people
from behind,
but
they
slipped
out
of
my
grasp
as
their
skin
peeled
freely
from
their
bones.
I
ducked
and
pulled
away
as the
creature
was
about
to
chomp
down
on
my
shoulder,
leaving
a
hunk
of
my
hair
in
the
zombie
’s
hands.
The
creature
moaned,
and
I
flipped
out
my
arm sword.
With a
swift
movement,
I
took
off
the
creatu
re’s
head.
I
glanced
around. Movement
behind
the
house
caught
my
eye,
and
I
took
off
running.
I jumped
over
the
waist-high
pickets
and
scanned
the
area. Nothing.
I
turned
to
my
right
and
headed
through the
gate
that
connected
the
neighbo
r’
s
yard
and
stopped
in
my
tracks.

The
grass
was
stained
red
with
blood,
and
a
group
of
seven
zombies
crouched
next
to
their
latest
kill.
Half
the
body
had
already
been
consumed,
but
the
head,
chest,
and
arms
still lay
on
the
ground.
The
eyes
of
the
man
stared
blankly
at
the
sky,
and
his
intestines
were
strewn
between
three
creatures.
I
grabbed
my
weapon
and
started firing.
I
took
down
two
before
the
rest
of
them noticed
me
and
converged
on
my
position.
I
went
to
the
back
of
the
house,
and
with
a
quick
jump
and
some
help
from
a
tree,
I
was
on the
roof.
The
zombies
followed
me,
but
since
they
couldn’t
climb,
they
moaned
and
pounded
on
the
side
of
the
house.
I
took
the
opportunity
to
pick
them
off
one
by
one.

After
I
finished,
I
did
a
quick
survey
of the
area. From
my
vantage
point,
I
couldn
’t
see
any
more
creatures,
but
that
didn
’t
mean
they
weren
’t
lurking
in
a
house
or
some
other
enclosed
space.
I
hurried
to
the
front
and
climbed
off
the
roof.
Liet yelled
at
another
soldier
as I
approached.

“And
get
the
bodies
to
the
pyre!”
 
His
face
was
red
with
exertion.
He
glared
at
me.
“Where
did
you
go?”

I
pointed
at
the
house.
“I
was
taking
care
of
some
undesirables
in
the
backyard.
What
happened?”

Liet
shook
his
head.
“I
don’t
know, but
when
I
find
out,
there’ll
be
hell
to
pay.”
He
averted
his
attention
to
someone
behind
me.
“What
are
you
doing?
I
said
quarantine
the
entire
area.”

I
turned
to
see
a
soldier
helping
a
family
carry
some
belongings.

“Nothing
goes. Drop
that
stuff
right
now!”

The
woman
did
as
she
was
told
and
escorted
the
family
down
the
block.

“What
are
you
doing
with
them?”
I
wondered.

“Everyone
within
a
three
-block
radius
is
being taken
to
holding
pens
on
the
other
side
of
the
wall.
If
someone
else
turns,
they
’l
l
be
shot
on
sight. Everyone
else
is
on
strict
lockdown.
I
won
’t
have
this
epidemic
spreading through
my
town.”

“You
can’t
lock
them
down.
You
don
’t
even
know
where
the
plague
started.”