Age of Z: A Tale of Survival Read Online Free PDF Page A

raising one finger. “Don't ever fight zombies when you don't have to. You get the chance, you get away from them as fast as you can. They're dangerous, and it gets worse at night.”
     
    LS still didn't look convinced–to be honest, Alexa was starting to realize LS didn't entirely believe her about the surface at all–so she added, “Look, just trust me on this, okay? I promise I'm not gonna steer you wrong. Don't fight zombies, not unless you're desperate .
     
    “Now I think I saw a couple of couches up in what looked like some sort of executive office–we can crash there for the night. Best sleep I'll get in a while.” She grinned. “I've got some packages of nuts that I found a couple weeks ago, I think they're still good–and some smoked meat and dried fruit I traded for last week. Regular feast, right? You should count yourself lucky you were found by somebody as resourceful as me!”
     
    LS's look was one of pure skepticism, but after a moment he smirked–this time the expression was a little more natural, like he was getting more used to it. “Alright. Are you going to share that feast?”
     
    “Maybe,” Alexa said with a grin. “If you ask nicely. I get first dibs on the more comfortable couch.”
     
    She headed out of the locker room for the stairwell again with LS in tow, adding more seriously, “We'll try to get up early tomorrow so we can stock you up on some of your own supplies before we head out. I think I remember where the good stuff was in here. Your own water bottle, food, a first aid kit...”
     
    She ticked off supplies on her fingers idly as she walked, with LS following and listening quietly behind her. And despite how surreal the situation was, wandering around far below the earth in a hidden science lab with a clone following her around like a quiet little puppy–for the first time in a very long time, Alexa felt almost... content .
     
    Because it felt good, not to be alone again. To have a traveling companion that wasn't there purely out of convenience or necessity, to have somebody willing to listen to her, to have somebody that trusted her to look out for him. It was like... like having a little brother. Like having a family again.
     
    It was a good feeling, and Alexa resolved to do everything she could to help this guy, no matter what.
     
     

Chapter 3
     
     
    Despite the oddity of the situation, Alexa slept like a baby that night.
     
    It was rare for her to get a good night's rest in relative comfort unless she was staying at one of the settlements in between search leads. When she was on the road she usually spent her time sleeping in trees or in upper stories, and she always had to sleep light, because at the slightest sound of a moan she had to be ready to run.
     
    But the Gentech sub-levels were secure. The couch smelled a bit funny, but was still soft and comfortable, and she'd had a good day of successful finds, so it was no surprise to her at all that she slept as well as she did.
     
    She woke at dawn, and she didn't even have to see the sky or find a working timepiece to know it. Before Z-day she'd been a lazy kid, always sleeping in when she could–back then, mornings had been evil, and it took everything she had to force herself out of bed to go to school.
     
    The outbreak had changed that. Alexa quickly learned that it was vital to take advantage of every second of daylight one had. Nowadays she was usually up with the sun and already long gone from her chosen campsite before the first hour of the day was out.
     
    Of course, today was a little different. It started when Alexa felt her heart stop, when she spotted the second empty couch. For a moment she thought finding LS had all been in her head–maybe she'd been alone for so long she was losing her mind, conjuring companions to keep the stress of surviving the apocalypse at bay. It wouldn't be the weirdest brand of crazy that had developed since Z-day.
     
    But a quick sweep of the room revealed LS