Shift - Omnibus Edition Read Online Free PDF Page B

lowered the thermos.
    ‘That stuff’s awful,’ he said.
    ‘Yeah.’ Troy looked around the office, his post for the next six months. The place, he figured, had aged quite a bit. Merriman, too. If he was a little grayer from the past six months, it was hard to tell, but he had kept the place in order. Troy resolved to extend the same courtesy to the next guy.
    ‘You remember your briefing?’ Merriman shuffled some folders on his desk.
    ‘Like it was yesterday.’
    Merriman glanced up, a smirk on his face. ‘Right. Well, there hasn’t been anything exciting for the last few months. We had some mechanical issues when I started my shift but worked through those. There’s a guy named Jones you’ll want to use. He’s been out a few weeks and is a lot sharper than the last guy. Been a lifesaver for me. He works down on sixty-eight with the power plant, but he’s good just about anywhere, can fix pretty much anything.’
    Troy nodded. ‘Jones. Got it.’
    ‘Okay. Well, I left you some notes in these folders. There have been a few workers we had to deep-freeze, some who aren’t fit for another shift.’ He looked up, a serious expression on his face. ‘Don’t take that lightly, okay? Plenty of guys here would love to nap straight through instead of work. Don’t resort to the deep freeze unless you’re sure they can’t handle it.’
    ‘I won’t.’
    ‘Good.’ Merriman nodded. ‘I hope you have an uneventful shift. I’ve got to run before this stuff kicks in.’ He took another fierce swig and Troy’s cheeks sucked in with empathy. He walked past Troy, slapped him on the shoulder and started to reach for the light switch. He stopped himself at the last minute and looked back, nodded, then was gone.
    And just like that, Troy was in charge.
    ‘Hey, wait!’ He glanced around the office, hurried out and caught up with Merriman, who was already turning down the main hall toward the security gate. Troy jogged to catch up.
    ‘You leave the light on?’ Merriman asked.
    Troy glanced over his shoulder. ‘Yeah, but—’
    ‘Good habits,’ Merriman said. He shook his thermos. ‘Form them.’
    A heavyset man hurried out of one of the offices and labored to catch up with them. ‘Merriman! You done with your shift?’
    The two men shared a warm handshake. Merriman smiled and nodded. ‘I am. Troy here will be taking my place.’
    The man shrugged, didn’t introduce himself. ‘I’m off in two weeks,’ he said, as if that explained his indifference.
    ‘Look, I’m running late,’ Merriman said, his eyes darting toward Troy with a trace of blame. He pushed the thermos into his friend’s palm. ‘Here. You can have what’s left.’ He turned to go and Troy followed along.
    ‘No thanks!’ the man called out, waving the thermos and laughing.
    Merriman glanced at Troy. ‘I’m sorry, did you have a question?’ He passed through the turnstile and Troy went through behind him. The guard never looked up from his tablet.
    ‘A few, yeah. You mind if I ride down with you? I was a little … behind at orientation. Sudden promotion. Would love to clarify a few things.’
    ‘Hey, I can’t stop you. You’re in charge.’ Merriman jabbed the call button on the express.
    ‘So, basically, I’m just here in case something goes wrong?’
    The lift opened. Merriman turned and squinted at Troy almost as if to gauge if he was being serious.
    ‘Your job is to make sure nothing goes wrong.’ They both stepped into the lift and the car raced downward.
    ‘Right. Of course. That’s what I meant.’
    ‘You’ve read the Order, right?’
    Troy nodded. But not for this job , he wanted to say. He had studied to run just a single silo, not the one that oversaw them all.
    ‘Just follow the script. You’ll get questions from the other silos now and then. I found it wise to say as little as possible. Just be quiet and listen. Keep in mind that these are mostly second- and third-generation survivors, so their vocabulary is