Read Online Life After The Undead (Book 1) by Pembroke Sinclair - Free Book Online

had at the moment needed more motivation. I set the plate in front of Liet, who looked up and smiled. I hesitated for a moment before smiling back. I felt Mrs. Johnson ’s gaze upon me, so I hurried out of the room.
    I stood by the door, hoping to hear more about their plans and waiting to see if Mrs. Johnson would introduce us, but they switched their conversation to construction supplies, which was boring. I turned my music back on and waited until it was time to clear their dishes.
    I was in the kitchen, scraping uneaten food into the garbage can, when it felt as if my earbud fell out. I went to grab it and was surprised to feel a hand. I turned abruptly and looked up at Liet.
    He smiled and folded his hands across his chest. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
    I turned my music off. “It’s all right.”
    “I’m General Liet.” He held out his hand.
    I shook it briefly. “Krista.”
    “I suppose they told you we are related.”
    “Mrs. Johnson mentioned something , but, I have to say, I don ’t remember you.”
    Liet smiled. “The last time we would have seen each other was at the family reunion twelve years ago.”   He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He handed it to me. “That photo was taken at the picnic in the park.”
    I unfolded the paper and stared at the smiling faces of my family. I instantly found my five-year-old self and my parents. I also recognized several aunts and uncles and my grandparents, but there were also several people I didn’t know. Liet moved so he stood next to me.
    “Tha t’s my mom right there.” He pointed to a woman with frosted blonde hair, holding a beer and smoking a cigarette. “She would have been your mom’s first cousin. And tha t’s me. I was fifteen at the time.” He pointed to a skinny kid wearing short blue basketball shorts and a Led Zepplin t-shirt. “It was our last family reunion because we moved to Louisiana shortly after.”
    I squinted at the picture, then glanced at the man before me. There was definitely a resemblance, but Liet had come a long way from being the thin kid in the picture. I folded it and tried to hand it back. He held up his hand and shook his head.
    “How long have you been here, Krista?”
    “Two years.”
    “Pchoo. Tha t’s a long time. Do you like it here?”
    I shrugged. “I don’t know.” I wanted to tell him I thought I was in the ninth level of hell, but I’d just met him. I needed to play it cool, figure out his intentions.
    “What do you do here?”
    “Go to class, then come up here and wait on the Johnsons.”
    “When I saw you by the lake, weren ’t you supposed to be in school?”
    I nodded.
    “Why weren ’t you in class today?”
    I shrugged again. “I didn ’t see the point in it anymore.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I mean, why do we have to go to school and learn math and all that other stuff if we can’t use it in the real world. I mean, there is no real world anymore.” I threw the plate I held into the trash. “And I ’l l be damned if I’m going to be someone ’s servant for the rest of my life.”
    Liet’s smile grew wider. “What you really want is a little adventure.”
    I nodded. “Yeah. That would be nice.”
    “You ever been outside of Florida?”
    “Not in two years.”
    “Well, Krista, since you and I are the only family we have left, we need to stick together. Would you like to go with me to Nebraska?”
    I straightened . “Yeah.”
    “How much skill do you have in fighting zombies?”
    I hunched my shoulders. “None. They don’t teach us anything of value here.”
    Liet waved. “Not to worry. I can make sure you have all the skills you need. Be ready early tomorrow. I’ll take care of everything.” He turned and left.
    I found it hard to suppress a smile. I looked at the rest of the dirty dishes and threw them all into the trash. I walked out of the penthouse back to my room to pack my belongings. After I finished, I went to