Life After The Undead (Book 2): Death to the Undead (40 page)

She
raised
her
hands
and
side-stepped
to be
with
Pam
and
Quinn.
Liet
moved
the
gun
from
the
side of
my
head
and
pointed
it
at
the
others.

“Who
wants
to
go
first?”

“No!”
I
pleaded.
“You
have
what
you
want.
You
have
me.
Let
them
go.”

“They
all
deserve
to die
for
what
they
did.
Quinn
it is.”

The
world
was
thrust into slow motion.
Liet
lined the
gun
up so it pointed
at
Quinn. His
eyes
went
wide,
and
the
barrel
flashed.
I
pushed with all
my
might
against
Liet’s
body,
hoping
to make
the bullet
sail
wide. Quinn’s
body
jerked.
He
fell
backward.
Tanya
and
Pam
took the
opportunity
and
ran in opposite
directions,
looking for
cover. Liet
fired
rapidly.
I
chopped
the
arm
holding
the
gun.

“You
brat!”
He
pointed
the
gun
back
at
me.
“This
isn’t
over!
They
will
get
what’s
coming
to
them.”
He
dragged
me
by
my
hair
toward
the
door.

I
stared
at
Quinn.
Blood
soaked
the
front
of his shirt.
He
didn’t
move.
I gasped for breath. Dizziness swept over me.

Liet
dragged
me up the
stairs
and
outside. I
pulled
out of his
grasp,
not
caring
if
I
was
missing
a
chunk of my
hair.
My
intention
was to
claw
his
eyes
out,
get
him to
the
ground,
and
pound his skull with a
rock.
He
pointed
the
gun
at
my
forehead.

“Try
it.
I
dare
you.”

“Shoot
me,”
I
taunted. “You’ve
already
taken
everything
away
from
me.”

A smile
curled
onto his lips.
“That
would be too
easy.
I
have
other
plans
for
you. I’m
taking
you
back
to
Florida.”

He
raised
the
gun
and
smashed
it onto the
side of
my
head. Blackness
engulfed
me.

CHAPTER
12

The
sun sank
behind
the
cliff
face,
streaking
the
sky
and
clouds
a
dark crimson. The
horse
shifted
beneath
me,
snorting
uncomfortably.
I
patted
her
neck
and
whispered
soothing
words.

“You
sure
nothing
is down
here?”
I
turned to Quinn.

“Of
course.”

“Then
why
are
the
horses
so skittish?”

He
shrugged.
“Probably
picking
up on
your
vibes.”
He
clicked
his
tongue,
and his horse
moved
forward.

I
stared
after
him,
my
eyes
narrowed
to slits.
Why
was
he
always
so
calm
about
things? Didn’t
he
ever
worry?
How
come
I
always
had to be so
high
strung?

I
pressed
my
heels into the
animal’s
side,
and
she
moved
forward. Quinn
was
a
ways
in
front
of me,
near
the
entrance
to the canyon. He
glanced
over
his shoulder
and
smiled.
It
put me
at
ease.

The
rock
walls surrounded him
and
his
ride,
casting
them in
shadows.
A
rumbling
sounded,
a
low mumble
that
vibrated
the
ground.
My
horse
stopped
and
jerked
her
head
in the
air,
backing
away
from the
canyon
entrance.
It
started
with a
few
pebbles,
then,
within
seconds,
larger
rocks
rolled
down
the
canyon
walls.

Quinn
glanced
up, his
eyes
wide.
He
pulled
the
reins.
The
horse
turned
and
started to
run.
Before
he
could
make
it out, the
walls
fell
inward. Quinn
was
buried.

My
chest hurt,
my
breath
came
in
rasps.
I
screamed
his
name,
but no sound
came
out of
my
mouth. I
tried to
get
off the
horse, but
my
foot
tangled
in the stirrup.
She
kept
moving
backward,
the
fear
rose
in her, the
desire
to
run away
overpowered
her. I
tried
to keep the horse
calm,
attempted
to say
soothing
things,
but
I
couldn’t.
I
didn’t
feel
it.

Eventually,
I
got
my
foot
untangled.
As
I
was
about
to swing
my
leg
over
the
saddle,
the
horse
reared.
I
was
thrown
backward. Landing
in the
dirt with a
thump, the
air
left
my
lungs.
I
gasped
for
breath. Darkness
crept
in.
I
had to get to Quinn
before
it
was
too
dark
to see.
A
hand
appeared
above
me,
reaching
out to
help
me
up. I
didn’t flinch.
It
never
crossed
my
mind to wonder
who
else
was
out there
with us. I
grabbed
it.

The
fingers
were
cold
and brittle. They
jerked
me
to
my
feet
with
an
unnatural
strength.
I
lost
my
balance and
fell
forward,
catching
myself
on the
person’s
shoulders.
The
bones
were
prominent
beneath
the
tattered
shirt.
My
heart
leapt
into
my
throat. I
knew
I
didn’t want to, but
I
forced
myself to look into the
person’s
face.

Quinn’s
skull
was
crushed,
his skin
peeled
down
his
cheeks.
One
eye
was
missing, the
other
dangled
from the
socket.
He
opened his mouth.
Several
teeth
were
gone,
but he sunk the
remaining
ones
into
my
neck.
Again,
I
screamed,
but no sound came out.

I
jerked
awake,
sucking
in a
sharp
breath.
My
head
pounded,
my
shoulder
was
on
fire,
and
the
bright
sun
threatened
to blind
me.
I
moved
my
hand
to rub
my
eyes,
but it
stopped
short.
Blinking
rapidly,
I
glanced
down.

My
hand
was
cuffed
to
the
handle
of a
door.
I
squinted
at
my
surroundings. Liet
sat next to me, his
hands
on
a
steering
wheel,
his
gaze
focused
forward. I
felt
groggy.
Was
I
still
dreaming?
I
tugged
at
the
cuffs
again.

“Knock
it off,”
Liet
growled.
“They
aren’t
going
to
come
loose.”

If
I
could
focus
and
breathing
didn’t hurt,
I
would
have lashed
back
at
him,
figured
out a
way
to get
my
legs
free
and
kicked
him in the
face,
but
I
didn’t have
the
energy.

“Where
are
we?”
My
mouth
was
dry,
sticky,
my
throat
sore.
The
words
crackled
out of
my
mouth.

“On
our
way
back
to
Florida.
Just like I
told
you.”

The
events
from the
cave
rushed back
into
my
mind.

Quinn!
Liet
killed
Quinn!
Forget
the
headache
and
searing
pain
in
my
body,
I
needed
to take
him out. I
moved
my
feet,
calculating
the best
way
to
turn
in
my
seat,
when
they
stopped
short. I
tugged on them and
glanced
down. Twine. He
secured
my
feet with twine.
Well,
you
couldn’t
say
Liet
wasn’t
prepared.

“Aaaaah!”
I
screamed out of
frustration
and
anger. I
pulled
and
jerked
and
writhed
against
my
restraints,
hoping
one
of
them
would pop
free.

Liet
chuckled, a
low, maniacal sound.

It
sent me
into
a
fit of
rage.
I
did the
only
thing
I
could.
I
spit.
It
was more
of a
mist
than
an
actual
threat,
but it
accomplished
its
goal.
Liet
slammed
on the
brakes.
I
jerked
forward in
my
seat.
Luckily,
Liet
fastened
my
seatbelt.
Not like
I
was
going
far with the
other
restraints,
but it did
prevent
me
from having
a
dislocated
shoulder.