Life After The Undead (Book 1) (84 page)

Maybe
there
was
something there
before.
Maybe
that
was
why
Liet chose
him
for this
particular
mission.
Whatever
the
case
was,
he
wasn
’t
going
to
be
able
to
take
the
truck to
Florida.
He
was
useless,
and
Liet
hated
that
more
than
anything
in
the
world.

“What
do
you
want
to
do
with
him?”

“I
don’t
know.
If
we
leave
him
here,
we
risk
the
possibility
that
Liet
will
accuse
us
of
killing
them
both
and
sentence
us
to
death.
If
we
take
him
back,
we
run
the
risk
of
Liet
killing
him
for
not
carrying
out
his
orders.
He
won
’t
be
good
to
anyone,
no
matter
where
we
take
him.”

Quinn
folded his
arms
across
his
chest.
“He
might
snap
out
of
it
eventually.”
  He stared
at
him
for
a
minute.
“Why
don
’t
we
take
him
back,
and
if
Liet
threatens
to
reprimand
him,
I’ll
intervene
and
bring
him
back
here.
Either
way,
he
’l
l
be
out
of
Liet
’s
hair.”

“You
can
try.
I
can
’t
guarantee
it’ll
work
for
you.”

“Let’s
worry
about
that
later.
C’m
on,
let’s
eat.”

After
breakfast,
we
got
into
the
trucks
and
headed
to
North
Platte.
When
we
were
a
few
miles
from
the
gate,
I
had
a
revelation.
I
turned
to
Quinn.

“I think I
have
an
idea
of
how
we
can
save
Wilks
and
make
it
so
I
’ll
be able
to
continue
going
with
you.”

The
right
side
of
his
mouth pulled
into
a
smile.
“Yeah?
What
is it?”

“You
’l
l
see.
I
want
you
to
wait
at
the
truck.
If
things
work
the
way
I’m
hoping
they
will,
we
’l
l
be
going
back out
soon.”

“I
hope
so.”

***

I
stormed
into
Liet’s
office
and
threw
the
doors
open
with
force.
A
woman
sat
on
his
lap,
and
he
pushed
her
to
the
side
as
I entered
the
room.

“What
were
you
thinking?”
I
yelled.
I
didn
’t
wait
for
an
answer.
“Do
you
think
it’s
some
kind
of
joke
to
send
me
out
with
rookies?”

He
pushed
his
eyebrows
together. “What
are
you
talking
about?”

“Anderson
and
Wilks.”

“Oh,
yeah.
What
happened
to
them?”

“What
happened
to
them?
You
want
to
know
what
happened
to
them?”
  I
placed
my
left
hand
on
my
hip
and
pointed
at
him.
“Let
me
tell
you
what
happened.
The
first
sign
of
zombies,
they
flipped
out.
Anderson
got
killed,
and
Wilks
is a
raving
lunatic.
If you
want
me
to
be
safe
out
there,
you
have
to
give
me
people
who
know
what
they
’r
e
doing.
Are
you
trying
to
get
me
killed?”

Liet
stood
and
held
his
hands
out
to
his
sides
in
defense.
“Of
course
not.
I
just
thought—”

“What?
That
you
were
being
helpful?
It’s
a
good
thing
Quinn
and
Kyle
were
close or
we
’d
have
been
in a
lot
of
trouble.”

“Look,
I’
m
sorry.
I
just
wanted—”

“Sorry
isn’t
going
to
bring
Anderson
back.
How
do
you
expect
them
to
get
supplies
if
they
can
’t
even
stay
alive?”

“I
expect
them
to
do
the
same
thing you
do.” His tone changed from apologetic to harsh. It caught me slightly off guard, but I couldn’t lose my edge.

“Well,
it
obviously
didn’t
work.”

Liet
placed
his
hands
on
his
hips. “And
why
is
that?
Why
is
it
you
’r
e
the
only
one
who
seems
to
have
the
skills
to
survive
in the
West?”

I
hesitated.
Why
did
I
survive?
I
wasn
’t
any
more
skilled
than
the
two
soldiers
who’d gone
out.
We
all
trained
the
same.
I
wasn
’t
as
afraid
as
the
other
two
. That
was
obvious,
although
I
was
when
I
first
went
out.
It
was
luck
. That
was
the
only
thing
that
could
explain
it,
but
I
couldn’t
tell
that
to
Liet.

“Because
I
have
something
to come
back
to.”
It
was
the
first thing
that
popped
out
of
my
mouth.

Liet
folded
his
arms
across
his
chest. “Really?”

“Yes,
really.
I
know
you
’r
e
always
here
waiting
for
me.
I
know
the
supplies
I’m
collecting
are
going
to
make
your
life
easier,
so
I’m
more
careful
than
Wilks
and
Anderson
were.”
I
stepped
closer
to
his
desk.
“The
only
thing
that
keeps
me
going
is
your
faith in
my
abilities.”
I
gagged,
but
I
don
’t
think
he
noticed.