Z 2136 (Z 2134 Series Book 3) by Sean Platt, David W. Wright Page A

He put a finger to his lips, then pointed down to the lobby where a trio of zombies were milling about in the open doorway.
    They made their way down, slowly. A few steps up from the lobby, Hooper turned back to Adam and handed him a blaster.
    “You ever fired one of these before?”
    “A bunch of times,” Adam nodded, loving the cool touch of the smooth black steel and nylon polymer. Hooper handed him two energy cartridges with 12 shots each, which Adam slipped into his coverall pocket.
    “Good.” Hooper nodded as he drew the sword from its sheath on his back. Without another word, he left Adam and Colton and glided silently into the lobby, then ran up to the closest zombie and swung his sword in a heaving arc that sliced through its neck like scissors through string.
    The zombie’s head flew from his body and landed with a sickening thud. Adam managed not to gasp. Colton smiled and lifted his rifle, balanced it with his left hand, then lined up his shot and pulled the trigger twice.
    THWAP! . . . THWAP!
    The two remaining zombies dropped to the floor.
    Hooper was standing back, sword at the ready, as though giving Colton the first shot while staying on standby in case things spiraled out of control.
    “Your gun has a silencer.” Adam said in awe, pointing at the muzzle he’d not noticed until the pair of muffled pops.
    “Yeah,” Colton nodded, eyes full of pride. “This was worth The Rush.” He petted the rifle’s stock and turned back to Adam. “You OK back there?”
    “Great,” Adam nodded. “You’re a really good shot.”
    “Thanks,” Colton said, still holding his grin. “I was the best City 5 had to offer, but that was only because I’d left City 6 and your old man behind. No one shot like Jonah.”
    Hooper dragged his sword across his pants, cleaning the blood from the blade before sheathing it. “We’ll roast marshmallows and jaw later. We need to go .”
    Colton clapped Adam on the shoulder and led him down the few remaining stairs. Hooper was already waiting by the outside door as they hit the center of the lobby. “Ready, kid?” Hooper asked, looking out through shattered glass at the broken city.
    Adam followed the man’s stare past the windows to the long steel fingers of the destroyed city. It was still early, but the sun was high and blinding on the snow. During the last several months of nights alone, Adam had believed that anything would be better than his cell. Now, with the living waiting to kill him and the already dead starving to feast on him, he almost missed the loneliness of prison. Outside this lobby, the shadows whispered a promise of death. The only thing that kept him moving forward at all was the fact that Hooper and Colton were already going through the doors. He shrugged off his shudder and stepped out into the city behind the two men.
    He stayed silent as the three of them cautiously walked the snow-covered streets. Only after Colton and Hooper began to trade mumbles did Adam finally think it safe to speak up.
    “How are we going to find Zelle? And how do you know she’s not already dead?”
    Hooper said, “Because you can’t trust The Network to tell the truth, but you can always trust ’em to do what’s best for themselves.”
    “I don’t understand. What’s best for them in keeping Zelle alive?”
    Colton answered. “Because The Network likes a good story they can sell the people to keep ’em watching. You, son, are the star of these Games. But Zelle: she’s young, scared, and everyone likes to root for—and bet on—an underdog. I guarantee that The Network is trying to keep her alive as long as possible. They’ll find ways to manipulate The Games—have her ‘find’ some supplies, or maybe an orb will take out some zombies if they get too close to her.”
    “Not that the folks back home will ever see that,” Hooper chimed in.
    Colton nodded, but the doubt must have shown on Adam’s face.
    Hooper said, “When’s the last time you