Life After The Undead (Book 2): Death to the Undead (47 page)

I
could
barely
keep
my
eyes
open
when
I
stepped
out
and
grabbed
the
towel
from the
private.
I
put on
my
bright
orange
shirt
and
pants, along with
my
sling,
and
followed
her
to
my
cell.

“You’re
being
kept
in holding
cells,”
she
explained,
“away
from
the
general
population.
They’re
afraid
you
might
incite
a
riot. But
don’t
worry,
you
won’t
be
alone.”

I
found
it odd she
felt
the
need
to explain to me
about
my
accommodations.
What
was
the big
deal?
They
could
put me
anywhere
they
wanted.
I
wasn’t
going
to
talk to
anyone,
I
was
going
to
sleep.
I
didn’t care
about
liberating Florida
anymore. There
wasn’t
anything
left
to
fight
for.

Private
Lamb
Chop
stopped
in
front
of a
cell,
and
the
door
slid
open
with a buzz
and
clang
of
metal.

“Krista?”
The
voice
sounded
behind
me.

I
turned.
Bill
stood
from
his bed
and
approached
the
bars,
his
eyes
wide.

“Krista!”
His
brother
was in the
cell
next to him.
He
had
a
little
more
enthusiasm in his
voice.
He
also
approached
the
door.

Great,
just
what
I
needed.
No doubt they
thought
I
was
there
to save
them. How
could
I
tell
them
all
hope
was
lost?
How
could
I
tell them
they
sacrificed
themselves
for nothing?
I
felt
ashamed
and
helpless, like
a
failure.
It
was
one
thing
to deal with the
pain
internally.
When it
was
just
Liet
and
I,
I
could
forget about the
others,
withdraw
inside
my
own mind,
pretend
no one
else
existed. I
couldn’t
ignore
or
forget
the
boys
when
they
were
right
in
front
of
me.
I
couldn’t
pretend
I
was
the only
one
the
events
affected.
I
averted
my
gaze
to the
floor
and
stepped
into
my
cell with
head
hanging
low. I
flopped
onto the
cot
and
placed
my
forehead
against
the
wall.
They
whispered
across the
hall.

“What’s
going
on?
Why
didn’t she
talk
to us?” I
couldn’t
tell
which
brother it
was.

“She’s
tired. It’s
been a
long
journey.
Let
her rest.
I’m
sure
she’ll
talk
to us
when
she
gets
up.”

Oh,
I
was
sure
I’d
have
to
talk to
them.
I
didn’t have
anywhere
to go, and trying
to avoid them would raise
suspicion.
But
what
exactly
was
I
going
to
tell
them?
It
became
painfully
apparent
that
I
was
going
to have
to
tell
the
guys
Quinn was dead. Could
I
say
those words out
loud? They’d
want
to know the
story.
Would they
blame
me? I
pushed
the thoughts out of my
head.
I’d
deal
with
it
when
I
had
to. I
needed
rest.
I
settled
into the pillow
and
closed
my
eyes.

***

Quinn
and
I
stood on the
roof
of the jail in
Casper.
Black
clouds
covered
the
sky,
with hints of
red
on
the
horizon. The
wind
blew,
drowning
out
all
sound
and
making
it
difficult
to stand
upright.
Quinn told me
something,
I
watched
his
mouth move, but
couldn’t
hear
him.

“What?”
I
barely
heard
my
own voice.

A strong
gust
pushed
against
my
chest,
my
feet
slid
across
the
gravel
rooftop.
Instinctively,
I
reached
for
Quinn.
Another
rush
of
air
pushed
me
farther
back. Quinn
grabbed
my
hand,
but we
didn’t stop.
The
momentum
took us to the
edge
of
the
roof.

The
backs
of
my
legs
hit
the
short
wall
that
surrounded
the top of
the
building.
My
back arched,
my
arms
flailed.
I
glanced
over my
shoulder. A
sea
of
zombies
reached
for
me.
Millions of
them,
undulating
like
waves.
The
wind
subsided,
and
I
regained
my
balance.
I
turned
to look
at
Quinn.
He
was
no longer in
front
of
me,
no
longer
had a
hold of
my
wrist.
He
teetered
on the
edge
of
the
building,
leaning
precariously
over
the
side. I
reached
for
him.
Too
late.
He fell.
His
body
hit the
creatures.
He
reached
for
me
before
slowly
sinking
beneath
the
rotted
hands
and
snapping
teeth. I
screamed,
but
my
voice
was
lost
on the
wind.

Another
gust
slammed into
my
back,
pushing
me
over
the
edge.
The
creatures
rushed
toward
me.
I
closed
my
eyes
and
brought
up
my
hands
to
brace
for
impact.

I
sucked in a sharp breath
and
jerked
awake.
Tentacles
of
pain
snaked
through
my
entire
body.
I
groaned.

“Krista?”
The
voice
drifted
across
the
hall.
Which
brother
was
that?
“You
all
right?”

Maybe
if
I
didn’t
answer,
he’d
think
I
was
still
asleep.
I
closed
my
eyes.
The
sea
of
zombies
waited in
my
mind’s
eye.
Maybe
I’d
take
my
chances
with
Bill
and
Kyle.
I
moved to the edge
of the
bed.