Pam sat at the table, eating an apple and reading a newspaper. She smiled as I walked in.
“Hey, check this out. Just got it from Florida this morning.” Pam handed me the newspaper.
I glanced at the headline, Zombie Threat Gets Worse, briefly before sitting across from Pam. I folded my arms on the table.
“What do you know about Quinn and his group?”
Pam took a bite and shrugged. “Not much. They live somewhere in the West and were the only ones to answer our request for help.”
“What are they working for?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
I glanced down and picked at an imaginary dot on the tabletop. “Just curious. Liet expects me to work with them and resupply the country. I wanted some information about them before we went out again.”
Pam set her apple down and leaned forward. “Are you afraid they’ll try to harm you?”
“Pfft, no! I can take care of myself.”
“I know you can. I wanted to make sure.” She leaned back in her seat and took another bite.
I picked at the spot again. “Do you like being here?” I glanced at Pam out of the corner of my eye.
Pam snorted. “If you’re asking whether I’d rather be here or back home with my family, without the threat of zombies, I think you know the answer to that.”
I pulled my hands onto my lap and hunched my shoulders. “Of course we’d all rather live in a world without zombies, but we can’t change the circumstances. Since you’re stuck here, do you like it?”
Pam frowned. “I wouldn’t call it a matter of like or dislike. It’s just how it is. Like you said, you can’t change the circumstances.”
“Yeah, but if you had a choice, where would you go?”
“I don’t know. What are you getting at? Why are you asking me this?”
I leaned forward and lowered my voice. “What about the workers? Did they choose to be here?”
Pam narrowed her eyes and leaned forward. “Some of them.”
“What does that mean?”
“Just what I said. Some of them volunteered and others, well, they didn’t have a choice.”
A million more questions raced through my mind, and I wondered if I really wanted to know the answers. I hadn’t really thought about the workers and their lives, but I decided I needed to pay more attention.
We stared at each other for a moment. Pam waited for me to ask more questions, I could tell by the look on her face. I finally sat back and folded my hands across my chest.
“I’m leaving tomorrow. I have to fill up two more trucks.” I stood and headed out the door.
“Hey, Krista.”
I turned around.
Pam hesitated. The look on her face told me she wanted to tell me something. It was a look of pain and sadness. Her forehead wrinkled and her eyes glistened with tears, but all she said was, “Good luck.”
I forced a smile and headed to the apartment.
***
The guys and I left early the next morning. My stomach fluttered with excitement. We were going back to Casper, but Quinn said he’d take me a different way, let me see the countryside. I packed a few more weapons, just in case we ran into trouble, and stocked up on ammunition. I climbed into the passenger seat of the truck and glanced out the window. Liet stood in front of the courthouse with his hands on his hips. I stared at him, and he waved as we pulled away.
The trucks drove through the gates and onto the highway. After we were a few miles down the road, I cracked my window and sucked in a deep breath of air.
“Smell that?” I asked.
Quinn wrinkled his nose. “No. What am I supposed to smell?”
“Nothing.”
He smiled. “Yeah. I do. Smells great.”
I took another breath. “Yes, it does.” I sat quietly for a moment. “You know, it’s weird, how you get used to something and don’t even realize it until you’re away from it.” I turned to Quinn. “Take for example the smell of the fire. It never bothered me in all the months I’ve lived in North Platte. Then you come along and point out how putrid it really is. Now, I can barely stand it. Why do you think that is?”
Quinn glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. “I think people get comfortable. Complacent. It’s hard to imagine anything else exists if you haven’t experienced it.”
“Is that why you came to North Platte? To experience something different?”
“Sort of.”
“Why did you come?”
“I wanted to see what it was like.”
“And what do you think about it?”
“I think it’s got to be the worst place on Earth.”
“So why did you agree to go back?”
Quinn shrugged his right shoulder. “If I have a means to make someone’s life a little easier, I’m going to do it.” He smiled. “Besides, I wasn’t doing anything else at the moment.”
“What do you expect to gain from it?”
“What?”
“Well, you can’t be doing something for nothing. What do you expect for payment?”
“I don’t expect anything.”
“Something has to tempt you. Money? Power?”
Quinn chuckled. “Really, I don’t want anything. Money has lost its value, and power is overrated. Too much stress. I’m doing it to help my fellow man. What about you? Why are you out here risking life and limb? What’s your temptation?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but then closed it.
Why was I out there? Mainly, it was because I wanted to get out and experience something new. Part of it was also so I could get away from Liet. In reality, I could move back in with Pam. I turned and looked out the window. Why was I doing it?
CHAPTER 13
It took us two days to fill up the trucks and then take them back to North Platte. I dropped in briefly to let Liet know I was all right, but he was busy so I didn’t stay for long. I stopped in to say hello to Pam, but we left again within hours of returning the loaded vehicles. On our next trip out we were instructed to get clothes and more food for the masses. Again, we headed toward Casper.
“How many more times do you think we can come here before it runs dry?” My foot was on the dash and I held on to the open window.
Quinn shrugged. “Depends on how much more stuff Liet needs us to get.”
“You know, eventually, all the supplies are going to run out. They need to start making new ones.”
“Maybe they’ll start doing that once the wall is built.”
I snorted. “Yeah, like that’s ever going to happen. Do you know how long it took them to get where they are? Months. And the only thing they have to show is a chain-link fence and the trench where they’re going to put the stone wall.” I shook my head. “No, I’m pretty sure that wall will never be finished.”
“What about the people in Florida? Won’t they make sure it gets done?”
I laughed. “You’re kidding, right? What do they care if the wall is done? They live as far away as they can. They’re not affected.”
“What was Florida like?”
I turned my gaze out the window for a moment, remembering my time in the Sunshine State. I turned back to Quinn. “It wasn’t anything spectacular. All the orphans were put in one hotel where they were given an education and career. I was a servant in the Johnson family’s suite. I hated every moment of it, so the first chance I got, I left.”
“Who are the Johnsons?”
“Only one of the most important families in Florida. Without them, the world would have collapsed into chaos.”
Quinn raised his right eyebrow and looked at me sideways.
“Not enough sarcasm? I’ll try harder next time.”
He smiled. “You have any friends who are still there?”
I nodded. “One. Her name is Pearl. At least I think she’s still there.”
“When’s the last time you talked to her?”
“I don’t know. A while ago. She didn’t want me to
leave, but I didn’t listen to her. I was so desperate to get out.”
“You should write to her.”
I turned partway in my seat and cocked my head to the side. “Why? It’s been months. I doubt she wants to hear from me.”
Quinn shrugged. “If she’s a good friend, she’d love to hear from you, no matter how much time has passed. It doesn’t hurt to try.”
I stared out the windshield. What had Pearl been up to? Did she find any family? Was she still in school? I was sure she was mad at me for leaving. I’d be mad if she’d left. I thought about what I would say. Maybe if I opened the letter with a “You were right, life is pretty bad here…” it’d smooth the way. Pearl was never one for gloating, but she might think I deserved whatever I got. After all, I abandoned her in Florida.
Then again, Pearl had every opportunity to leave too. She didn’t have to stay there. I shouldn’t have to apologize for anything. I only did what I thought was best for me. If she couldn’t understand that, then she could go to hell. I didn’t have to answer to anyone. Still, it’d be nice to know what she was doing. Maybe I would write her a letter.
The trucks pulled into the mall parking lot. A few cars still sat in the parking spaces, but otherwise the place looked empty.
I stared at the building. “How do you want to do this? The place is much too big for a detailed search.”
“Why don’t we secure Sears. If I remember correctly, each store has a gate that closes it off from the main hall. We could do a quick scan, close the gate if it’s still open, and load up with what we need. If we think we need more, we can make our way through the mall.” Quinn put his hand on the door handle.
“Okay. I’ll follow you.” I took a deep breath and opened my door.
As usual, Bill and Kyle waited in the parking lot, making sure the coast stayed clear. We walked to the doors, and both of us were surprised to see particleboards had been placed over the glass. We glanced at each other. I raised my eyebrows, silently asking what that meant. Quinn shrugged.
“Should we try to find another way in?” I whispered.
Quinn shook his head. “I think we can pry one of these off. We should be fine.” He placed his gun in the holster at the small of his back and then jerked on the boards. The wood creaked and snapped, and the corner lifted up. He went down on his knees and stared in.
“Looks clear.”
He pulled the gun back out of his holster and crawled into the building. I followed after him.
The store was dark and humid. The faint smell of mildew wafted into my nostrils along with the scent of leather and old perfume. Clothes hung on the racks, and mannequins were still posed in the windows. The store was warm, but I shivered.
“We have a lot of ground to cover. We should get started.”
I nodded, and we walked around the room. As we proceeded deeper, it grew to almost pitch black. I clicked on my flashlight and shone the beam precariously around. Quinn clicked on his too.
Clothes no longer hung neatly on the racks, but were dumped onto the floor as if someone had gone through them and threw down the ones they didn’t want. Empty hangars were everywhere, and shoes were piled haphazardly in the middle of the floor. We proceeded to the dressing rooms.
“I’ll stay at the door,” Quinn whispered. “You head in.”
As I entered, something in the far dressing room clicked. I froze. At first, I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me, but then a soft scraping resounded through the room. That wasn’t in my mind. I brought my gun up and slowly stepped down the hall. I hoped it was a cat or some other animal that had moved into the store. I could hit a zombie in the head with a flashlight and my gun, but that had been in a much larger area. The dressing rooms were pretty crowded. What if there was more than one? What if it lunged at me? I hated being in such a confined space.
Once I made it to the door of the last dressing room, I kicked it open and prepared to fire. Much to my surprise, nothing was there but a bed made out of linens from the store’s inventory. That didn’t make me feel better. Who or what would have made a bed? I was sure the zombies didn’t do it, so it had to be a person. I hoped they were friendly. I lowered my weapon and took a deep breath.
I was about to head back into the main store when shuffling sounded off to my right. I readied my weapon again and headed toward the noise. The beam of the flashlight caught movement, and my heart skipped a beat. I paused at the door. Quinn wasn’t there. I peered around the corner.
“Quinn,” I whispered.
“What?”
“Did you see that?”
Before he could answer, a shadow ducked under one of the clothes racks. I spun out of the door and used my gun to move the clothes. Nothing. I glanced around the room again.
“Quinn? Where are you?”
I shone my light around the room, looking for him, when something kicked my hands. My gun and flashlight skidded across the floor, and I turned toward my attacker. A fist caught me in the left cheekbone. My vision blurred, and the pain spread through my entire skull, giving me an instant headache. I whipped around to face my assailant, blinking rapidly to clear my vision, but they scurried off to my right. I flipped out my arm swords and turned to follow. So much for them being friendly.
Since I’d lost my flashlight, my eyes slowly adjusted to the dark. Thankfully, I could see straight. Whoever had attacked me was still in front of me, poised to strike again. The shape dipped down, and my legs were swept out from underneath me. I landed on my back, the wind knocked out of me. The shadow moved so it stood directly over me. I could barely make out its arms as it swung something over its head. I brought my swords up to defend myself. I crossed them over my face, stopping a metal rack as it was about to smash my head in. I pushed it out of the way and jumped to my feet. I swung my right arm over my left shoulder and was about to strike when the lights flicked on and temporarily blinded me.
Thankfully, it affected the person attacking me too. I shielded my eyes and kicked the man standing in front of me. He fell to the ground, and I raised the sword above my head. I hesitated. I’d never killed a human, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to start at that moment. The man took the opportunity to kick at my legs, but I jumped out of the way. He stood and ran away. I went to follow, but was stopped by Quinn’s voice.
“Are you okay? I heard you fighting with someone.”
I folded my sword blades, placing my hands on my hips. “You mean you didn’t run into anyone?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Where did you go?”
“I checked out the cashier stand. When I saw you’d lost your flashlight, I went to find the lights. Was it a zombie?”
I rolled my eyes. “How many zombies do you know are smart enough to knock a gun out of your hand? And did you hear a moan? It wasn’t a zombie.”
Quinn pursed his lips. “Where did he go?”
I threw up my hands. “I don’t know. You distracted me.”
“We should probably see if we can find him.”
We were about to head off when a voice stopped us in our tracks.
“That won’t be necessary.”
We turned to find a group of twenty armed people standing next to us. The man who’d spoken was young, probably not much older than twenty-five, but his face was lined with stress and his black hair was turning gray. He was on the thin side, but an intensity burned in his eyes. I flicked arm swords back out, and a few of the individuals raised their weapons.
“We don’t want any trouble.” Quinn raised his hands in a surrender position.
“What do you want?” the man asked.
“We want to get some supplies and head out.”
“Well, you can get them someplace else. This is our sanctuary.”
“Please, it’s just a few things.”
The man curtly shook his head. “I’ve seen you in town before. You think you’re the only ones here and can take anything you want. Well, you can’t. We fortified this mall, and we st
ocked it with supplies. It was an awful risk for us to come here, and we’re not about to give up our safety.”
“I understand. We’ll be on our way.”
One of the men in the group stepped forward with my flashlight and gun. I folded my swords up and took them back. We backed toward the door, and right as Quinn was ready to crawl into the light, a skeletal hand grabbed at his face. He pulled back, but not before the tip of one of the fingers scraped against his cheek. Two men followed us, and when they saw the arm, they helped me push against the board to keep the creature out. A moan resounded. We succeeded in nailing the board back over the door. The four of us ran into the store. The man who’d confronted us earlier stared in disgust.
“I thought you were leaving.”
“So did we.” Quinn sucked in a deep breath. “The zombies seemed to have followed us.”
The man scowled and stomped to the storeroom. We weren’t exactly sure what we were supposed to do, so we followed him. He climbed the ladder that led to the roof and then proceeded to the edge. I glanced into the parking lot. A horde of close to a hundred zombies closed in on the mall, moaning to attract others. Bill and Kyle fired into the crowd. Several creatures fell, but they didn’t have the ammo to fend them all off. They must have figured that out too because they climbed into the cab. I glanced at the horizon and noticed several hundred more on their way. I glanced at the man.
“Sorry.”
It was pathetic, and it probably meant nothing to him, but I didn’t know what else to say. We really hadn’t meant to endanger anyone’s lives. We hadn’t even known there were people there.
He stared at the undead. “It’s not the first time it’s happened. We’ll be fine. They can’t get in, but we’ve got to clear you a path to your truck.”
Life After The Undead Omnibus [Books 1-2] Page 13
