“Back to the soldier’s house. Pam already said I could live there.”
Liet took a deep breath. “Now, let’s not be hasty. Megan, why don’t you wait for me in my room?”
Megan left, and I folded my arms over my chest. I didn’t care how much power Liet thought he had over me, this was my space and I was going to fight for it. It would bother him if I left. I had him in a tough position. As Pam had said, he didn’t know how to deal with a teenager, so I was going to use that to my advantage.
“There’s no need for you to move out. It won’t happen again.”
“I hope it doesn’t.”
Liet turned to leave the room, and I slammed the door behind him. I turned back to my belongings and proceeded to put them away. I heard him and Megan through the wall. They were fighting, but I couldn’t hear what they said. The front door slammed, and he came back to my room.
“You know, you weren’t very nice to my friend.”
I huffed. “Not very nice to your friend? What was I supposed to do? Let her have anything of mine she wanted?”
“She lives in the worker’s camp, Krista. She doesn’t have a lot of nice things.”
“How is that my fault?”
“It’s not, but like I said, this stuff isn’t yours. It’s mine. Everything in this town belongs to me. I’m nice enough to let you have it.”
I threw the clothes I had in my hands at him. “I don’t want your charity,” I shouted. “Take it. Take it all back.” I grabbed my CDs and dumped them onto the floor.
Liet grabbed my arms. “You’re being ridiculous. If they make you that happy, then keep them. I won’t let anyone else touch them.” He released his grip. “I’m going to bed. Clean this mess up.” He left the room.
As soon as he left, my knees shook and I collapsed onto the floor. I didn’t know what had possessed me to stand up to him like that. I didn’t know what he was going to do to me. All I knew was I had to keep the one and only place I felt safe. I really didn’t care about the things. He could’ve taken them if he wanted to, but I needed my room. I needed my own space. I took a deep breath and started cleaning up.
***
The next morning I was summoned to a meeting in Liet’s office. All his colonels were there, and he looked particularly sullen. I took a seat in the jury box and waited.
“We have got to do something about our supplies,” Liet spoke quietly. “We’re running low, and there is nothing left on the East Coast.”
I felt contentious, so I threw my arm over the back of the chair and placed my feet on the seat in front of me. “We couldn’t have picked the entire East Coast clean. There has to be something left.”
Liet set his jaw, and the other officers stared at me out of the corners of their eyes, shifting nervously and clearing their throats.
“There are still places in the East that have supplies, but getting them isn’t feasible. It’d take a lot of time and gas to get to New York or Maine, and we don’t even know if they’ll have what we need. Even getting gas is going to be an issue. The stations we used before have all dried up. Most of the guards who manned the posts along the way are now working for me and keeping their eyes on the work crews as we extend north and south.”
“So then go west,” I suggested.
Liet’s eyes flashed with anger as he stared at me, then they brightened. “That’s a good idea.” He turned to his colonels. “There are people who live over there, they know the land. Send out a broadcast. Let them know that anyone willing to help with supplies will be amply rewarded.”
The colonels saluted before leaving the building. I stood to head upstairs.
“I’m glad you decided to stay,” Liet said.
I snorted and walked out of the room. I wasn’t exactly sure how to take the comment, and his Jekyll and Hyde routine was really getting old.
CHAPTER 10
I switched shifts so I worked nights in the guard tower. I thought one of the easiest ways to stay on Liet’s good side was to stay out of his way. Plus, I wanted to do something constructive to help the community. Since he was so busy during the day, I had plenty of quiet time to sleep. When he came home angry at night or with a girl, I left so he could have his privacy. We attempted to keep things cordial and our family ties strong by having dinner together, talking about the mundane happenings that occurred earlier in the day, then I was off to work.
The schedule worked for weeks, then one day, I was summoned from sleep to meet Liet in his office. It was important. He knew I worked all night, and he usually let me sleep. My curiosity was piqued. What was going on? I went down and took my usual seat in the jury box. Three guys stood in front of Liet’s desk. He stared down at them, his eyebrows pushed together in contemplation.
One of them looked to be the same age as me with a round face and bright brown eyes, his face reddened from the sun. He wore a tight pair of Wranglers and a plaid shirt with cowboy boots. He carried a holster on his hip, but it was empty. The guards must have taken his gun when he’d entered the gate. No one but the soldiers were allowed to have weapons. Pam explained that to me my second day in North Platte. She never told me why, but it wasn’t hard to figure out. Guns were power. Those who possessed them had the power, those who didn’t, didn’t. It was your typical tyrannical setup.
One of the other two with him was older, probably in his late twenties. He was stick thin, and his jeans hung loosely around his legs. His boots were faded and worn, and the sun had tanned his skin. The other guy was a younger version of the older, although not much older than I was, so I assumed they were brothers.
“So, now, tell me why I should trust you? You don’t even look over eighteen.”
“Age has nothing to do with experience. You need someone to get you supplies in the West. I can get you supplies.” His voice was low, quiet. I noticed a faint accent, a subtle twang that wasn’t quite Southern but close.
“And that’s a guarantee?”
The guy shrugged. “I can’t guarantee anything, but I know where your chances are the best.”
Liet’s eyes narrowed. “I suppose that will have to do.” He straightened some folders on his desk. “Give me a few days. I need to find someone to send with you.”
I slid forward in my chair. “I’ll go.”
Liet snorted. “I don’t think so.”
I stood from my seat. “Why not?”
“Because I need you here.”
I stepped out of the jury box and up to his desk. I wanted to scream at him from across the room and stamp my feet, but I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front our guests.
“For what? So I can shoot more zombies from the guard tower? Why did you call me down here if you weren’t thinking about sending me?”
Liet leaned forward and lowered his voice to a whisper. “I wanted you to see that someone from the West answered our call. I have no intention of sending you into harm’s way.”
I lowered my voice to match his. “C’mon. All your soldiers are busy watching the workers. You have no one to send and you know it. I’m the only one who can go. Pleeeease?” I folded my hands under my chin.
Liet sighed heavily and sat back in his chair. “Fine, but you’d better be careful while you’re out there.” He turned to the guys. “This is Krista. She’ll be going with you.”
I nodded to the group and then went upstairs to pack. This was the best news in weeks. Even though Liet and I were getting along better, I still dreaded every evening I had to see him for dinner. I never knew which Liet was going to show up—the nice one or the mean one. This way, I didn’t have to worry about it.
Liet followed me up. He stood in my doorway, his arms crossed over his chest. “I’m not very happy about this situation.”
I rolled my eyes. “I know, but you have nothing to worry about. I can take care of myself.”
“I realize that, Krista, but there are dangers in the West that you’ve never experienced. Dangers you can’t even imagine.”
“An
d I’m sure those guys will make sure I’m safe. Liet, this is the perfect opportunity for me to learn how to be on my own. I’m going to have to be eventually, you know.”
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” he mumbled under his breath. “How do you know those guys will make sure you’re safe? You know nothing about them. They could be rapists.”
“I have a gun. And swords. If any of them try anything, I’ll cut them.”
“I don’t want you getting too close to them. Keep it professional. You don’t need to share anything about your life. Hear me?”
“I hear ya.” I grabbed my bag before going downstairs to the waiting trucks.
I really hated when Liet tried to be the good guy. I think in some weird, messed up way he really did care about me, but it was the same caring serial killers showed their victims before they tortured and murdered them. What they thought was love, wasn’t. Kindness and sympathy were not his strong suits, but both of us knew he had to try to make a show of it. Even serial killers know how to function in society.
Liet contracted with the guys to bring back a tanker of gas and a semi half full of food and half full of construction supplies. I rode in the semi, and the brothers were in the tanker. Liet showed up to say goodbye, and as I climbed into the cab, he grabbed me gently by the arm.
“Please be careful. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”
I smiled, it was probably more of a smirk, and he released his grasp.
We drove to the gate and stopped at the tower.
The guard handed the guy’s gun through the window. “I hope you took good care of it.”
The guard answered by turning and opening the gate. My heart rate increased. I was both excited and nervous about heading into the West. Memories of the trip to International Falls entered my mind. There had been a fair amount of undead up there, but nothing compared to what was supposedly in the West. We were outnumbered at least a thousand to one, and that was a conservative estimate. No one really knew how many zombies there actually were. I envisioned all of them traveling in a massive pack, a writhing ball of rotting flesh and snapping jaws, millions of them clumped together, looking for food. Even though that vision wasn’t true, it still made me shudder.
As soon as we were a few miles past the gate, the guy let out a sigh.
“Glad to finally be out of that place.” He held his hand out. “We haven’t been formally introduced. Quinn.”
I took his hand. “Krista.”
“Nice to meet you.” He placed his hand back on the wheel. “How long have you lived in North Platte, Krista?”
“A few months. I’m not sure exactly how many. Time is weird out here.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, it’s hard to keep track of it when you don’t have a calendar. Where did you live before?”
“Before North Platte or before the zompocalypse?”
“Both.”
“Well, before North Platte, it was Florida. Before that, Oregon. You?”
“Wyoming born and raised.”
“How old are you?”
“Eighteen. And you?”
“Seventeen.”
The conversation drifted into silence, and I stared out the window. After a few hours, a sign on the road welcomed us into Wyoming. The landscape changed from flat burned-out fields into rolling hills with an occasional zombie herd in the distance.
“How many zombies do you think there are?” I turned to Quinn.
He shrugged. “Hard to say. Where we live, they don’t bother us much.”
“Where is that?”
He flashed a smile. “Now that’s a secret.”
Something in the pit of my stomach fluttered and my skin grew hot. Quinn’s entire face beamed, and his eyes squinted a little. I saw the emotion in his smile, felt its warmth and sincerity. It’d been a long time since I’d seen a smile like that. I felt my face flush, and I turned away.
I suddenly became very self-conscious. I’d always been on the thin side. Even at seventeen, I had very little curves. My hips were flat, and my chest only had a hint of breasts. It never really bothered me before. I was only fifteen when the first attacks had happened, and then all I wanted in Florida was to be left alone. I liked boys, but I also read a lot of books about serial killers. In junior high, I constantly scrutinized their actions and intentions. Like the girls, they started to think I was weird and avoided me. In Florida, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t be “normal.” The world was filled with zombies. Why would I care who was going with who to the dance? Why were we even having dances? Being out in a truck in zombie-infested land changed things. Was it the ideal place to find love? Of course not, but it was the new reality. If it was going to happen, I couldn’t think of a better place.
I averted my gaze to my lap and cleared my throat. “I understand. You don’t want us to find you.”
He smiled again. “Sort of.”
I turned back to him. I couldn’t get enough of that smile. “How long have you lived out here?”
“All my life.”
“Why didn’t you leave when the attacks started?”
“Didn’t have to. We weren’t bothered by the zombies. Still aren’t, really.”
“How?”
Quinn shrugged. “I guess we’re too far off their radar.”
“Are there a lot of you out here?”
He shook his head. “Not really. Most of the population fled to where it was safe. Can’t really blame them. It’s not an easy existence out here.”
My forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Then why do you do it?”
“Because it’s better than the alternative.”
Quinn slowed the truck onto an exit. We pulled into a gas station, and he scanned the area. A few zombies lurched on the horizon, but they wouldn’t make it to our position for a while. The other truck pulled up to the pump next to us, and the younger of the two brothers climbed onto the roof of the cab. He signaled for me to open my door.
“If you get on top,” he said, “you can see for miles. It gives them peace of mind and you the ability to watch their backs.”
I climbed on top of the truck.
Quinn got out and started fueling the truck without shutting it off. He and the other guy conversed with each other while they filled up, and I kept an eye on the approaching creatures. I found it odd that the guys could be so relaxed and talk as if they weren’t being hunted. What if there were undead in the gas station? What if they surprised them from the other direction? There was a lot to be on the lookout for. The zombies might be slow, but there were a lot of them, and they always seemed to pop out from the most unlikely places. I guessed that was how comfortable they felt with us on the roof. That was a lot of trust to have in someone. I was slightly flattered.
I didn’t draw an easy breath until I was back in the truck and on the highway. Even though I’d been on the roof, well out of harm’s way, I’d still been scared. I was very nervous for Quinn and his friend. What if one of us froze? Or missed the shot? I tried to put it out of my mind. It was part of life out there that I had to get used to. I volunteered to drive, but Quinn said he was fine. The landscape changed again from rolling hills into expansive valleys bordered by rocky mountains. The sky turned a deeper blue, and the air was crisp and cool. I cracked my window and sucked in a deep breath. I closed my eyes and focused on the breeze as it blew through my hair. I couldn’t remember the last time I smelled air so clean. I was about to fall asleep when the truck bumped me awake. I opened my eyes and looked at an expansive city before me. Quinn stopped the truck in front of a construction yard surrounded by a chain-link fence.
“Where are we?”
“Casper.” He jumped out to open the gate.
I stared in amazement as we drove into the construction yard. The supplies were covered in a thick layer of dust, and there was enough to last North Platte a year. I jumped down from the cab, my mouth open. It was too good to be true. There was no way this stuff was still sitting there, untouched. No
one needed this? That was hard to believe, but I wasn’t one to question good fortune. I turned when the second truck squealed to a halt and Quinn closed the gate. He stood next to me, his hands on his hips. The two guys from the other truck joined them.
“Krista, this is Kyle and his brother, Bill.” Quinn gestured toward them.
I nodded.
They shook my hand before heading off to look for zombies. I thought it was a little odd that they didn’t say anything, but we had a job to do. There was no reason to stall with the undead roaming around. I turned back to the equipment.
“I-I can’t believe it. They haven’t been touched in years.”
Quinn nodded. “Yeah, a lot of places are like this.”
“Why haven’t you taken any of the supplies?”
“Don’t need, ‘em.” He stepped forward and climbed into a loader.
“How can you not need them?” I called after him.
His hand paused on the key. “‘Cause we don’t.”
He smiled, and the loader roared to life. I shook my head in confusion, then turned away to see what I could load.
It took us a couple hours to fill the truck with construction supplies. After we finished, we stopped at the first grocery store we found. We left the engines running as we stared through the glass windows at the front. I hadn’t actually seen a zombie since we’d arrived, and that worried me. Again, the trip to International Falls crossed my mind.
“There should be a loading dock around back, but I want to make sure we’re not walking into a nest.” Quinn put the truck into park and then grabbed a shotgun from behind the seat. “You and I will sweep the store, and Kyle and Bill will stay outside and watch our backs. Cool?”
My stomach knotted. I glanced from him to the store and back to him before nodding. I pulled my gun out of the holster. Adjusting my grip on the handle and taking a deep breath, I opened the door.
Quinn let the other two know what we were doing, then we stepped into the store. The air was humid and thick with the smell of rotten meat and moldy fruits and vegetables. Pam had taught me the fastest and safest way to clear an area was together. You stood shoulder to shoulder and pointed your guns in opposite directions. That way you always had a 360-degree view of what was around you. Clearing a building wasn’t like what you see in the movies. You don’t split up and meet in the middle. That’s a good way to get shot.
Life After The Undead Omnibus [Books 1-2] Page 10
