“I should go and see if anyone else needs help.” He hesitated, perched on the edge of the bed, but eventually he stood.
“Let me walk you to the door.”
He stood at the open apartment door and leaned against the jamb. He took my good hand in his. “Even though everything seems uncertain right now, just know that I’m going to be right here with you. You don’t have to go through this alone.”
His words, even though kind of corny, meant a lot. From the moment I lost my parents until I came to North Platte, I did feel like I was alone, like no one knew what I was going through. It was silly, I know, because we were all in the same situation. Every one of us was threatened or affected in some way by the zombie horde. But we all experienced it differently, and it was nice to know I had my very own support group. I placed my hand on his face.
“And I’m here for you.”
He leaned forward and kissed me before heading out.
I closed the door and turned toward Tanya. She snored on the couch. I grabbed a blanket and covered her up. I stared at her for a moment, feeling sorry for her.
She wanted to be a part of the revolution, but I highly doubted this was what she had in mind. I’m sure she wanted her dad alive, to be proud of her, to tell her what a good job she’d done. I knew how hard it was to lose a parent, especially because of some stupid decision or act. It was going to take her a long time to get over—if she ever got over it. I hoped she was like me though, and I hoped she took all of her anger and resentment and sadness and focused it on one task. Preferably taking down Florida or maybe destroying the zombies in the West. Either way, she needed something to occupy her mind. It was the one thing that would keep her going.
It was the only thing that kept me going.
CHAPTER 3
It was easy getting the workers and the former guards organized to leave North Platte. They didn’t have much, so it didn’t take them long to pack. Once everything was ready, Quinn gave them instructions of where to go. He wanted the town empty for our final task. Even though he didn’t think anything was going to happen, he didn’t want to take the chance. There were still a lot of bad feelings toward Liet and the others who refused to convert.
I stood outside the door to the holding cells, my shoulder aching more than normal as I thought about facing my cousin. Quinn, Pam, and Tanya stood behind me.
“You sure you want to go in there alone?” Pam asked.
I nodded without looking at her. “Yeah. We need to subdue him first. He might get the others riled up.” I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the closed door.
“If anyone is going to rile him up, it’s going to be you. You’ve always been the focus of his anger.” Quinn’s voice made it possible to break my stare.
I looked at him. “Well, I guarantee if you go in there, it will definitely upset him. Same with Pam. I’m pretty sure he won’t hesitate trying to kill you. With any luck, he’ll show some restraint with me. He doesn’t know Tanya, and she’s unaware of what he’s capable of, so I don’t want to send her in there.” I took a deep breath. “This is really the only way.”
Pam placed a hand on my good shoulder. “We’re right here if you need us. Don’t hesitate to call.”
Quinn nodded. “We can be in there in a split second.”
Tanya stared at me, her arms crossed over her chest, the look on her face told me she was undecided about coming to my rescue. I didn’t blame her. We told her some stories about Liet, I’m sure she was scared to death. I smiled at the others.
“I won’t hesitate if something goes wrong.”
Taking another deep breath, I turned and grabbed the handle of the door. I pulled it open and stepped inside.
The cells lined the right side of the room. They were a lot like the cells we stayed in in Casper. The doors were constructed of metal bars, while the other three walls were concrete blocks. I looked down the rows of black bars.
The only sound was my own breathing. Hands poked into the halls, resting on the bars, and eyes watched me, waiting to see what I was going to do. In all, about fifteen guards didn’t want to be integrated into society and still held loyalty to Liet. They weren’t much of a threat to the city, but to the four of us, it could be detrimental. Our best bet was to take the leader out first, make sure he couldn’t inspire them to riot, then the others should fall in line nicely. At least, that’s what we hoped. That’s what I hoped. But I knew Liet wasn’t one to go quietly. We placed him in the last cell at the end of the hall. Even though he was able to talk to the others, we hoped the distance from them would deter him. So far, he seemed to keep to himself.
I made my way down the hall, well aware of the loud squeaks my shoes made on the linoleum floor. My heart rate increased and thumped in my ears. I wondered if others could hear it, too. I kept my gaze forward, my head high, trying to portray a confidence I didn’t feel. I watched them from the corner of my eye, thinking—hoping—they wouldn’t try anything. In reality, if they wanted to grab me, nothing stopped them. The room was just big enough that if I pressed myself against the wall, they couldn’t reach me. But I wasn’t pressed against the wall. I walked down the center of the floor. All these people knew was power, and if I attempted to portray it, maybe they would believe it. After all, we already overthrew them. They were the ones behind bars. If I skimmed against the wall, they would sense my fear and pounce on it. I needed to remain in control, even if it was an illusion.
I stopped in front of his cell. Liet sat on the edge of his bed, wearing his green fatigue pants and a ribbed white tank top. I was aware of the pin-up girl tattoos on his forearms, but I had never seen the ones on his upper arms. His right arm was toward me, and his shoulder was covered with the branches of a leafless tree. I followed the lines of the branches with my eyes, around his shoulder blade, until they were covered by his shirt. I figured the rest of the tree covered his back. From one of the limbs on his arm hung a guy. His body was limp and his eyes bulged, but his mouth was curled into a sinister smile. I shuddered. Liet stared at me.
“Well, well. Krista.” I heard the hate in his tone as he spoke my name. “Her royal highness has left her mighty throne to pay us prisoners a visit.” He stood from the bed and faced me.
I could see his other arm. Again, his shoulder was covered with bare branches, but a woman hung from this limb. She was naked and had the same sinister grin as the man, but she was also flipping the bird. I wondered for a second what the rest of the tattoo looked like, then decided I didn’t want to know. I assumed it had something to do with why he was in jail, and I didn’t need to hear the story. The only reason I thought that was because of the research I did as a kid, when I read about serial killers and other criminals. Some of them liked to document their crimes in ink on their body, albeit cryptically. They knew what it meant, but no one else did. I speculated, of course, because I didn’t know.
However, I wouldn’t put anything past Liet. He obviously kept it covered when he liked me so he didn’t scare me or have to talk about the past, but those days were gone. I’m sure he thought he intimidated me, standing there with his shoulders back and fists balled at his sides, like he was ready to pounce at any moment.
I probably should have been afraid. Logically, it was the proper emotional response. Liet wasn’t large, he was pretty thin, but he did have muscles. He was what I would call wiry. Instead, I struggled to swallow down the laugh that threatened to escape. I had faced him, gone toe to toe, and even though I was injured, I still won. He was the one behind bars, the king who lost his kingdom. His posturing and bodily threats were wasted on me. Still, I was sure if we had a rematch, he would probably kill me. That thought made my stomach flutter and the laughter vanish from my lips.
“How does your arm feel?” he smirked.
I glanced at my sling, then back into his face. “It’s getting better. You’d be amazed how fresh air aids in the healing process.”
The smile dropped from his lips. “What are you doing here?�
�
“We’re moving everyone to the West.”
“And you’ve come to say goodbye?” he hissed.
“Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you? To be left behind so your friends from Florida can save you before leveling the town.” I stepped closer to the door. “But that’s not going to happen. We’re taking you with us.”
The thought had crossed Quinn’s and my mind to leave Liet and the others here to their fate. It would have made our lives so much easier. But, again, there was the chance he could survive. I always heard you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I never knew what that meant until having to deal with Liet.
Liet threw his head back, a loud, raucous, forced laugh escaped from his mouth. “And you thought I’d be a good boy and let you cuff me and take me wherever you please?”
I stared at him with pursed lips, my hand on my hip.
The nervousness and fear I felt in my stomach quickly hardened into anger. Who did this guy think he was? He was in no position to make threats. He acted like a child, and I was ready to put him back into place. I stepped closer to the door and placed my good hand on a bar.
“I’m pretty sure I wasn’t asking if you wanted to come to the West.” My voice was low, threatening. I was a little surprised at how much anger actually drifted out.
Liet stepped forward and placed his hand above mine. “And I’m pretty sure I won’t be going quietly.” His tone matched mine.
I couldn’t help but smile. I was hoping, wishing, waiting for him to say that. I slid my hand from the bar and took one step back.
“It doesn’t have to be like this. It can be simple and easy.”
He leaned forward, squeezing his face between the bars. “It’s never simple, and I’m definitely not going to make it easy. You want me to leave this cell, you’re gonna have to shoot me.”
I shrugged and reached into my sling. Pulling out the boxy taser, I pointed it at him. He didn’t even have a chance to blink before I shot the electrodes at him. They hit his chest, and his body went stiff as the electricity flowed through him. His knees buckled, and he fell to the ground, spit dripping from his mouth.
“You bit–”
I pressed the button again, and his body stiffened. He rolled to the side, his back toward me. I seized the moment and grabbed his right arm. I took the cuffs out of my sling and slapped one end around his wrist, the other hung free. He took deep, ragged breaths and looked over his shoulder at me, a smile snaked onto his lips.
“How are you gonna get my other arm?”
Without saying a word, I unlocked his door, slamming the metal into his back. He arched as the pain ricocheted through his spine and he groaned. I hit him again, and he rolled on his stomach, out of the way. I hit him with another jolt of electricity. After 30 seconds, I stepped into his cell and grabbed his left wrist. With one hand, I had him cuffed and ready for transport. He huffed and wheezed on the floor. He tried to gnash his teeth at me, to roll over and get the upper hand, but his body wouldn’t cooperate. I sat on the small of his back and patted him between his shoulder blades.
“You brought this all on yourself, just remember that. I was willing to take it easy on you.”
I set the taser next to him, and heard the footsteps coming down the hall. I stepped out of the cell and faced Quinn and Pam.
“Anyone else want to take the hard way?” I taunted.
In reply, hands poked through the cell doors, their fingers intertwined and ready for cuffs.
The plan was to transport the prisoners in the back of a semi. It wasn’t ideal, but we didn’t have any other choice. There were only four of us, and 15 of them, and we didn’t have enough vehicles to make sure they were comfortable. The trailer had a bar that ran along the floor, normally used as a tie-down for cargo. We placed some blankets down, then wrapped the cuffs around the bar. I know it sounds pretty cruel, but no one wanted the prisoners rushing us when we opened the door. It was for our protection as much as theirs. We cut some holes in the ceiling of the trailer so they could have light and fresh air. We weren’t overly cruel.
Liet was the only one who wasn’t riding in the back.
He would have, but he insisted on acting like a child, kicking and screaming and calling us all the names he could think of. Eventually, we just had to drug him, give him some sleeping pills to get him to shut up. If the prison system and government had still been up and running, our actions would have been viewed as cruelty. Lucky for us, the government was long gone, and they didn’t have to deal with Liet. We didn’t beat him, just drugged him. You have no idea how much more pleasant it was with him unconscious. It was almost heavenly.
From there, we laid him in the sleeper cab.
Quinn and I drove the truck with the prisoners, while Pam and Tanya took a fuel tanker. Poor Tanya. She looked like she was going to lose it. Not only was she still mourning the loss of her father, she was forced to head into the West. The cesspool of zombie creation.
She only knew what The Families told her about the place, that she would die instantly out there. She wore her fear on her pale face. I grabbed her arm before she climbed into the cab of the truck.
“I know it doesn’t mean much, but you will be just fine out there.”
She swallowed thickly and nodded. “I’m sure I will. I’ll have you guys to back me up.” She tried to force a smile.
“It’s bad, but it’s not as bad as they told you it is.” I thought back to Quinn and my first trip out, how he tried to make me feel better. “As long as you use your head, you’ll survive.” I handed her a silver 1911. “This helps, too.”
She took the gun and stared at it for a while. I was about to turn and head to my truck when her voice stopped me.
“I’m sorry I blamed the zombie attack on you.”
I turned back to her. “It’s all right. I completely understand why you would think that.”
She looked up, her eyes red-rimmed, tears threatening to fall. “No, it’s not all right. You’ve been nothing but nice to me. You trusted me when you didn’t have to. I’ve always been mean to you. From the beginning. You were so strong, so confident. I was scared. Always scared.” She lowered her gaze. “I hated myself for that. For not being able to wonder about the zombies. For not wanting to.” She looked up, and a tear found its way down her cheek. “When you came back, I thought, ‘This is my chance. Now I can do something.’ But in the back of my brain, I didn’t want to act. I still wanted to pretend like the zombies didn’t exist. That’s why I blamed you. It all became too real.”
I placed a hand on her shoulder and took a deep breath. I wanted to tell her it was all right, that things were going to be fine, but the words caught in my throat. I didn’t know if things were going to be all right. I didn’t even know if Kyle and Bill were still alive. Plus, I was kind of angry at her for her cowardice. I couldn’t tell her that, and I wouldn’t, but she did mess things up a little.
“We’ll fix it, don’t worry.” It was the only thing that would come out of my mouth. I patted her shoulder and headed to the passenger seat of my semi. Tanya climbed into her seat. The door closed behind me as I walked away.
Quinn glanced at me as I stepped into the truck. “You all right?” Concern covered his face.
I nodded. “Yeah. I’m fine. Sorry. I’ve got a lot on my mind.” I nodded toward the back. “How’s our prisoner doing?”
“Sleeping soundly.”
“Good. Let’s hope he stays that way.”
Quinn put the truck in gear, and we rolled down the highway. As we passed through the abandoned guard towers, I couldn’t help but think how much better the world was going to be once North Platte was gone. Maybe it would actually force The Families into action. Of course, we weren’t exactly sure Florida was going to attack us, we were just being cautious.
Three miles outside of town, we ran into a zombie horde. With a smile on his lips, Quinn pushed the pedal to the floor. I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t stop the smile fr
om curling onto my lips. The creatures thumped against the front of the truck, a couple hands and a few arms flew over the top. Blood and ooze coated the hood, a few drops landed on the windshield. Quinn sprayed the ichor off with wiper fluid. He looked at me.
“This is so much more fun when you don’t have to get out to clean it up. I hope we always have people around who want to wash trucks.”
“Yeah, it’s not without its charm.” I smiled back.
As we smiled at each other, something large flew over the hood and slammed into the glass. A loud popping resounded through the cab. Instinctively, I threw up my good arm to protect my face, and Quinn slammed on the brakes. He pulled over onto the side of the road.
Panting, with my heart beating a million miles a minute, I glanced at him. “What was that?”
He stared out the windshield. “I don’t know, but it took a nice chunk out of the glass.”
I looked at where he indicated and noticed a divot. “You can still drive it, right?”
The walkie talkie I had on my belt clicked with static, followed by Pam’s voice.
“You guys all right up there?”
I pulled it off my belt and pushed the button. “Yeah, we’re fine. We’re heading out again.”
Why hadn’t we used the walkies before? We could have called Bill and Kyle for backup in many situations. Oh, well. Live and learn.
I signaled for Quinn to move, then heard something in the distance. It was a sound I knew I had heard somewhere before, but it had been so long, I couldn’t place it. Quinn put the truck in gear and pushed on the gas, drowning out the noise. I grabbed his arm.
“Shhh!”
He stared at me. “What?”
“The truck. Turn it off.”
He did as I instructed, and the sound got louder. I cocked my head to the side and closed my eyes, trying to place that noise. The walkie talkie crackled again.
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