Life After The Undead (Book 2): Death to the Undead (36 page)

The
four
of
us made
it to the
shack
and
stopped
at
the
door.
We
looked
at
it,
then
at
each
other,
then back
at
the
sign
on the
door.
It
read:
“Warning:
Property
of
the
United
States
Army. Trespassers
will
be shot on
sight.”

I
took a
deep
breath.
I
knew
whatever
we
were going
to find
behind
the
door
wasn’t
going
to be
good.

CHAPTER
11

“It’s
just a
scare
tactic.”

We
all
looked
at
Pam.

“I
highly
doubt the
U.S.
Army
has anything
to do
with this
place.
I’m
sure
it’s some
crazy
mountain
guy
who
wants
to be
left
alone.”

“I
don’t
know.”
My
eyes
scanned
our
surroundings
again.
“Why
would he need
an
electric
fence? And
where
would he
get
the
power for it?”

Pam
chuckled
and
shook
her
head.
“You
have
no
idea
how
insane
some
of
these
people
are.
I’m
sure
he
has
generators
hooked
up
somewhere.”

I
knew how
crazy
survivalists
could
get.
We
had
our
share
of
them
in
Oregon
before
all
this
happened.
Still,
it
didn’t
seem
right.
It
seemed too
high-tech,
even
for
the
most savvy
of
survivalists.
I
glanced
around
the
trees.

Hidden
amongst
the
leaves
were cameras,
several of
them
pointed
in our
direction,
while
others
stared
onto
the
perimeter.
Whoever
owned
the place
didn’t
want
anyone
approaching
without them
knowing.

If
it
was
the
Army,
I
couldn’t
figure
out how
they
got
to the
building. There
weren’t any
roads,
and
it
would be
impossible to
land
a
helicopter.
It
was
possible
they
stopped
in Dashton
and
hiked
through
the caves.
Unless
there
was another
opening
somewhere
else
on the
mountain.
The
building
itself
wasn’t
large.
The
four
of
us would be
able
to
fit
in it, but
we’d
have
to
stand shoulder
to shoulder
in sets of two.
Whether
it
was
the
Army
or
some
nut job, the
place
was
easily
defendable. I
just
wondered
where
they
were.

“Try
the door.”
Pam
motioned
with her
gun. “See
if
it’s
unlocked.”

Quinn
stepped
forward
and turned the
handle.
The
door
popped
silently
open.
Dang!
I
really
hoped
we
wouldn’t
be
able
to
get
it.
But
I
knew
at
the
back
of
my
brain
I
wasn’t
that
lucky.
The
zombies
had
to come
from
somewhere,
and
I
was
convinced
it
was
this
place.
A
shard
of sun illuminated a
small portion of the
building.
I
peeked
in. A set of
stairs
angled
down into
darkness. Great.
It
couldn’t
just be a
tool
shed.

Quinn
glanced
at
us.
“I’ll
head
down
first.
The
rest
of
you
stay
close.”

“Should
one of
us stay
out
here and
keep
guard?”
Tanya
asked.

Well,
wouldn’t
that
be
convenient?
It
would
make
it
much
easier
for
her to run
away.
I
wanted
to
say
that, to
snap
at
her
for
even
suggesting
such
a
thing,
but
I
bit
my
tongue.

Quinn shook his
head.
“No,
we all
go
together.
If
someone
stays
up
here,
and we
all
run
out, someone
might
get
shot.”

She
swallowed
thickly,
her
head
bobbing
slightly.
She
tightened
her
grip
on
the
gun. “Okay.”

“You
ready
for
this?”
Quinn
asked.

“No.
But
I’ll
be
fine.”

His
jaw
tightened
and
he
took a
deep
breath.
“Pam,
you
go
behind
me. Krista,
keep
an
eye
on Tanya.”

He
didn’t
have
to
tell
me
twice.
I
didn’t
plan
on
letting
her
too far out of
my
sight.

Quinn
stepped
through
the door
and
down the
stairs.
Pam
followed
behind,
then
Tanya.
She
hesitated,
staring
at
me,
her
eyes
glistened
with
fear. For
a
brief
moment,
I
felt sorry
for
her. I
remembered
how scary
the
unknown
was,
how
nerve-racking
it was to think we
would
run
into a
zombie. I
pushed it down. I
couldn’t
show
empathy,
especially
after
what she did to us. I
jerked
my
head
toward the
stairs,
encouraging
her
to
go.
She
took a
deep
breath
and
headed
in.

The
air
was
cool.
The
faint
stench
of
rot
tickled
my
nose.
The
light
from outside
illuminated
the
first
few
steps, then
we plunged
into
darkness. That
was
why
we
always
kept
flashlights
on
us. We
never
knew
when we
would be
forced
into some
dark
space,
and
we
always
wanted
to be
prepared.
Quinn
and
Pam
had theirs on,
and
I
clicked
mine
on. I
illuminated the
walls. Boring,
smooth
concrete,
and
nothing
else.
No
signs,
no
graffiti,
no
indication
of
what
we
headed
into. I
flexed
my
fingers
around
the
handle
of the
gun
and
chewed
on
my
lip.

Quinn’s
light
disappeared.
He
must
have reached
the
end
of
the
stairs.
I
stepped onto the
concrete
floor
with
everyone
else,
and
we
shone
our
beams
around
the
room.
Again,
concrete
walls
surrounded
us. A
single
desk
was
on the
right,
and behind it, a
short
corridor
to another door.
Pam
stepped
to her
left
and
flipped
a
switch.
Fluorescent
lights
flickered on, casting
a
sterile
white
glow
into the
room.

“Power’s
still on,” Pam commented.

“Yeah. But
where’s it coming
from?”
I
glanced
at
the
others.
They
shrugged
as
my
eyes
fell
on them.