Life After The Undead (Book 2): Death to the Undead (21 page)

Quinn calmly
told them about
Liet
and
the
uprising,
but
I
knew it
was
a
struggle
for him.
He
had
his hands
folded
between
his
legs,
his
knuckles
were
white. He
was
even
more
tired than
I
was. I
took a
nap
in the
truck. I
imagined
how
frustrated
and
irritated
he
was.
I
ate
another
cookie
while
I
waited
for
him to finish.

When he
was
done,
the
man
sat
quietly,
absorbing
the
information.
The
girl
shifted
from
one
foot to the
other,
her
eyes
wide
as
she stared
at
him. Without
warning,
the
man slammed his
hands
onto the
arms
of
the recliner
and
pushed
himself
up. I
jerked
with
surprise
and
almost
spilled
my
coffee.

“Well,
we
appreciate
you
taking
the time
to warn
us,
but we
can
take
care
of
ourselves.”
He
gestured
with an
open
hand
toward the
way
we
came
in.

“Duncan,”
the
girl
whispered
and
stepped forward.
She
was
going
to
say
more, but Duncan
held
up his
hand
to
silence her.

“We
have
been in this city
for a
long
time
now.
We
keep
a
vigilant
eye. No
one
will
get
the
upper hand on
us.”

Quinn stood. “I
hope
you’re
right.
I
really
do. They
won’t
think
twice about
shooting
you
from
the
sky.”

Duncan’s
eyes
narrowed. “And
if
it
weren’t
for
you
and
your
rebellion,
we
wouldn’t
have
to worry
about
that.”

By
that point,
I
had
enough.
I
slammed
my
cookie
onto the
table
before
getting
to
my
feet.

“You
can’t
blame
us
for
wanting
a
better
life.
We
didn’t
have
the luxury
in
North
Platte
you
have
here.”
I
fluttered
my
hand
around
the
room,
indicating
the
mall.

Duncan
stared
at
me.
“We
all
made
our
choices.
I
shouldn’t
feel
sorry,
or
have
to
pay,
for
the ones
you
made.”

“And
what
about
reclaiming
what’s
ours? What
about
killing
the zombies and
taking
back America?”

“We’re
fine
where
we’re
at.
We
don’t
need
anything
more.”

“Duncan,”
the
girl
said
again.
I
heard the
disappointment in her
voice.

I
hoped she
would
say
more,
maybe
take
our side
and
convince
Duncan
to do something, but she just walked
away.

Quinn
huffed.
His
face
turned
red,
and
I
knew he
was
doing
everything
in
his
power
to
stay
calm.
He
opened
his mouth to say
something,
thought
better of
it,
then
walked
away.
I
narrowed
my
eyes
and
stared
at
Duncan.
I
shook
my
head.
There
were
so
many
things
I
could
have
said to him, so many
things
I
wanted
to
tell
him. I
could
have
given
him a
speech
about
taking
pride
in his nation
and
wanting
a
better
life for
his followers,
for
his
children.
I
could
have
told him he
would be
a
hero,
that
future generations would
tell
his story
for
years
and
years,
but
I
didn’t. I
didn’t
waste
my
breath. Instead,
I
followed
Quinn out of the
building.

We
sat in the
parking
lot
for
a
long
time.
The
engine
ran,
and
Quinn
stared
out
the
windshield.

“I
don’t
get
it. I
just
don’t
get it.”
He
didn’t look
at
me.
“Not
even
a
thank
you.”

“Why
would
you
think he
was
going
to
thank
you?
He
probably
thinks
we’re
the
ones
who doomed him.”

He
took a
deep
breath.
“I
know.
And
that
sucks.”
He
looked
at
me. “What
other
choice
did
we
have?
If
we
didn’t say
anything and
The
Families
found him,
he’d
blame
me.
Now,
he
blames me
for
warning
him.
It
was a
situation
we
couldn’t
win.”

I
placed
my
hand
on his thigh.
“But
at
least
we’ll
have
a
clear
conscience. Whatever
they
do now, that’s on
them.”

He
took
my
hand in his.
“You’re right.
I
can’t
save
them
all.
I
knew
that
when
I
started
this.
It
doesn’t
make
it
easier,
but at
least
I
know
I’m
doing
the
best
I
can.”
He
forced
a
smile
before
putting
the
truck
in
gear.
“What do
you
say
we
get
a
couple
of
hours
of
sleep
before
heading
back
to
Dashton.”

I
patted his
leg. “Sounds
like a
good
plan to
me.”
He
pulled
out of the
parking
lot
and
headed
for the jail.

I
stared
at
him as we
drove
down the
road.
Quinn
was
always
so
confident,
so sure
of himself.
Even
in the
direst
situations, he
remained
calm.
I
had
no
doubts
we’d
be
victorious in North Platte
because
Quinn
was
by
my
side. He
had
faith,
so
I
did too.
After
the
last
few
weeks,
I
could
tell
his confidence
faltered,
unraveling
at
the
edges.
He
still tried
to portray
calmness
and stay
in
control,
but
I
could
tell
he
didn’t
feel
it. I
doubted
anyone
else
noticed,
they
didn’t
know him the
same
way
I
did.