Life After The Undead (Book 2): Death to the Undead (35 page)

I
watched
her silhouette
as
we
wound our
way
through
the
tunnels.
I
wished
I
could
read
minds, it
would make
everything
so
much
easier.
I
hated
not
knowing
what
was
going on. I
hated not being
able
to
tell
Quinn, too.
If
anyone
knew
what
to do with
Tanya,
it
would be
him.
Maybe
I
was
being
overly
protective.
It
was
possible
I
misjudged
Quinn’s
reaction.
I
mean,
he’d
never
done
anything
in the
past
to make
me believe
he
would be
extremely
angry
or
hurt
Tanya. But
there
was
that
night
at the
fire,
and
he
barely
spoke
to
her.
He
blamed
her.
It
was best to
play
it
safe.
I
couldn’t
risk
pushing
Quinn
over
the
edge.

The
scraping
of
wood
against
rock
echoed
through
the
tunnel.
Quinn
was
attempting
to move
the makeshift
barricade.
It
was difficult to see
over
the
others in
front
of
me, but
I
heard him grunting
and
struggling.
The
light
flooded
in. He
successfully
removed
the
blockade. I
squinted
and
blinked
at
the
light,
moving
forward
with the
rest
until
I
stood
amongst
the
trees.
We
formed
a
semi
circle
with
Quinn
as
our
focus,
waiting
for
instructions of
what
to do next.
His
back
was
toward
us
and
he
glanced through
the
trees,
his hands
over
his
eyes,
shielding
them
from
the
sun.

“I
think we
can
get
to the
complex
over
there.”
He
pointed
off
to his
right
before
turning
to
face
us.
“Keep
a
sharp
look out.
Last
time
we
went
through
here,
we
ran
into two
undead.
Who knows how
many
more
are
out
there.”

Pam
nodded
and
pulled
out her
gun.
I
did the
same.

Tanya
hesitated,
but she
also
followed
suit. I
eyed
her
cautiously.
Again,
I
hoped to bore
my
thoughts
deep into
her
skull, warning
her
what
would
happen
if she
turned on
any
of
us. She
glanced
at me
briefly,
then
flicked
her
eyes
to the
ground.

Quinn
headed
off
first,
the
rest
of us flanking
him. We
stayed
close
together,
within
an
arm’s
length.
Sweeping
outside
was
just like
clearing
a
building,
you
didn’t
want
to
get
too far
away
from
each
other,
and
you
definitely
didn’t want to split up.
That
was
a
good
way
for
someone
to
get
shot. We
stepped
lightly,
trying
as
best
as we
could
not to make
too
much
noise.
Our
footsteps
crunched
on dead
leaves
and
gravel,
as
well
as
an
occasional
twig. Birds
tweeted
overhead.
In
the
distance,
a
squirrel
chattered.
I
glanced
in the
direction
every
time
I
heard
a
sound, but it also
made
me
feel
better
to know
animals
were
out.
If
there
was trouble, they
would
have high-tailed
it
to
safety. Zombies
weren’t
known
for
their
stealth abilities,
and
that
distressed
wildlife.
I
didn’t know
if
a
zombie
would
eat
a bird or a
squirrel,
but
I
highly
doubted
either
animal
stayed
around
to find out.

We
walked
quite a
way
through
the
trees.
I
scanned
the
area and
listened
for
anything
out of
place,
I
didn’t
count
steps.
Eventually,
we
came
to a
chain
link
fence.
If
I
hadn’t
seen
it,
I
wouldn’t
have
believed
it. The
trees
didn’t
open
into a
clearing.
There
wasn’t a
logical
reason
for
it to be
there,
but it
encircled
a
large
area
of the
forest.
Signs
posted
at
various
intervals
warned
of
electric shock,
and
razor
wire
adorned
the top. To
my
left, a
section had
fallen
down, or
was maybe
pushed
over,
it was hard to
say.
In
the middle
of it all
was
a
small,
metal
shack. The
trees
hid it
perfectly.
If
we
hadn’t
been looking
for it,
we
wouldn’t
have
found
it.
We
all
stopped
and
stared
at
the
place
in awe
and
confusion.

“What
is this?”
Pam
asked.

I
shrugged.
“I
have
no idea.”

“Well,”
said
Quinn. “There’s
only
one
way
we’re
going
to find out.
Let’s
head
in.”

He
walked
toward
the
fallen
part of
the
fence,
and
we
all
followed.
We
cautiously
stepped
over
the
fence,
our
senses
heightened,
the
tension
grew
thicker. A
bird
flew between
tree
branches.
I
whipped
around to
stare at
it.
My
stomach
was
in knots,
my
fingers
tingled.
To say
I
was
uncomfortable in that
area
was
an
understatement.
There
was
something
creepy
about the
whole
place,
something
I
couldn’t
put
my
finger
on. Who
had
a
secret
shack in the
woods
surrounded
by
a
chain link
fence?
An
electrified
fence.
Where
did they
get
the
power?
And
where
were they
now?

I
knew the
zombies we
ran into
days
earlier
had
something
to do with this
place. But
the
way
they
were
dressed,
I
knew it
wasn’t
a
hunting
cabin.
My
brain told
me to
get
out, to run far
away,
but
my
curiosity
told me it
was
just a
few
steps
further.
I’d
made
it that
far,
might
as
well
find
out
what
was
going
on.