Age of Z: A Tale of Survival

by T. S. Frost

  Something about that door seemed... odd. But she'd come this far, she reminded herself again, so she stepped through to the other side.

  It was dimmer in here–some of the emergency lights appeared to have gone out–and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust. But when they did, her jaw nearly dropped, and she stared in surprise at what the room contained.

  Or, more specifically, who the room contained.

  Chapter 2

  For a moment Alexa could do nothing but stare.

  There was a glass pod in the center of the surprisingly large room. It was dirty and dusty, but even so there was clearly a person in it, and some sort of light source illuminated it from within slightly.

  Shocked, Alexa dropped her pack and crowbar next to one of the computer consoles and darted forward to take a closer look.

  It was definitely a person, the first living person she'd seen in a while. For one horrifying moment Alexa thought this guy was also dead, just like the dozens of creatures, left down here to rot. But a moment later she realized the dirty glass was misting just barely in front of the figure's face, which meant he was breathing, which meant he was alive. Alexa let out a sigh of relief for that.

  Reassured, she examined the person more carefully. The figure was outfitted in a bright white jumpsuit, with LS-32 emblazoned across the chest. Further examination of the pod revealed a large LS engraved on the outside above the smaller words Legionnaire Subject.

  “Legionnaire,” Alexa breathed. Legionaries were suppose to be some sort of Roman soldier if she remembered correctly. Did that mean he was a soldier?

  But no. The more she studied the sleeping figure, the more she realized that couldn't be right. For one thing, this figure was too young–he looked barely sixteen. No one that young would be part of the armed forces. Maybe captured by the scientists that were clearly insane here?

  “Doesn't matter,” Alexa decided after a moment. Whatever this guy's story was, the fact of the matter was that this was wrong. People had clearly not been here for years–how long had this poor guy been left down here, abandoned in a pod while the world died twenty-six levels above?

  It must have been terrible to be alone like this, for so long. Not even Alexa had been totally alone through the past three years–she'd still made friends, interacted with people at the settlements and colonies, and spoken to other travelers.

  This was complete isolation and restriction, and the thought alone set her stomach churning.

  She wasn't going to leave this guy down here like this. It wasn't even a decision she had to consciously make–nobody deserved this, and she wasn't going to abandon a fellow person down here in the dark.

  Who knew if anybody would come back for him otherwise? Clearly nobody else even knew the facility was here. He could be overlooked for an eternity until he died in his sleep down here, like all those creatures, never known about.

  Determined, Alexa jogged over to the computer console, poked at the buttons to try and get some reaction. Unfortunately the facility seemed to be working on emergency power only, with only a few of the electric goo things left to generate power, which meant all the computers were offline.

  Well, there was more than one way to interface with high-end technology these days–snatching up her crowbar again, she strode over to the pod.

  “I really hope you are as tough as you look,” she told the unresponsive figure inside, “because otherwise this might hurt a bit.” And drawing back the crowbar, she smashed it into the glass.

  It was stronger than she had anticipated. It took Alexa four more whacks with all her strength before the glass cracked significantly, and at the sixth a few shards finally gave way. There was a soft hissing noise as the gas inside the pod began to escape, and Alexa backpedaled in alarm.

  The gas didn't appear to be dangerous, so after a moment she stepped forward again to continue her work–and blinked in surprise when she saw movement inside. It was hard to spot, the glass was so dingy, but she was sure she saw the figure's fingers twitch, the hand stretch and clench, and the chest heaved just slightly as a deep sigh escaped the body.

  Then the eyes snapped open.

  Alexa blinked in surprise, and for a moment she met the other's gaze. The figure's eyes were a brilliant crystal blue,. But they appeared clouded, disorientated, like somebody rising out of a heavy sleep.

  Alexa had about a millisecond to register the other's confusion. Then the person's gaze seemed to grow more intense, and with an primal yell, his fist shot up, smashed through the glass, and slammed straight into Alexa's chest.

  Alexa yelped as she was snapped backwards, crashing to the ground and missing the computer console by bare inches. The crowbar slipped from her fingers and clattered to the ground out of reach–not that it would have been likely to be of much use against this guy.

  She groaned as pain shot through her back, but before she could react further there was another primal howl and the figure burst through the glass. Shards scattered all around the floored teenager as the person leaped straight for Alexa.

  Alexa yelped again, and twisted her head aside as a powerful fist smashed down where her skull had been. Concrete cracked, and Alexa gulped as she stared at the impact site; had that really been her head, it would have burst like a melon.

  Great, she managed to think, I've survived the walking dead for three years now and the thing that's going to kill me is a good deed gone awry. This is so not fair!

  The figure snarled again and pinned Alexa to the floor with one knee; Alexa choked as the air was forced from her lungs. The figure's fist drew back, and Alexa knew she wasn't flexible enough to escape this one.

  So she coughed, gasped, and threw up her hands to protect her face, while desperately sucking in enough air to yell, “Woah! It's okay, I'm just trying to help! Help!”

  She hadn't actually expected this to work–the figure's vocabulary had been, well, non-existent so far–but to her surprise the person's fist ground to a halt about six inches from her face. Alexa tried very hard not to breathe an audible sigh of relief.

  The figure was staring at her again. His gaze was still incredibly intense, and the frown on his face was almost scary, but he didn't attack or start yelling again. Instead, his brows drew together into a deeper frown of confusion, and he rasped slowly, “Help?”

  His voice sounded dry, and almost painful–like he'd never used it before. Alexa winced in sympathy, and inwardly thought to herself, Okay... so he can talk. Okay. Better than nothing.

  Outwardly, she was aware that it would be really good to not piss off the guy about a hairs breadth from turning her face into pudding, so she said as softly and non-threateningly as she could, “Yes. Help. I just wanted to help you out, that's all. If you let me up we can figure this out...”

  She waited, heart hammering. The figure continued to stare at her, and then after a moment slowly recoiled back to his feet, hands at his sides. Wincing and rubbing her chest, Alexa hauled herself slowly to her own feet with the assistance of the nearby computer console, trying to ignore the intense scrutiny of her new companion.

  Okay, Alexa, she coached herself. The guy is clearly out of it, so just start nice and slow. Sticking out her hand to shake, she said out loud, “So, hi. I'm Alexa. Alexa Winters.”

  The figure blinked, glanced down at her hand impassively, and then looked back to her face. After a few moments Alexa let her hand drop. “Okay then. Well. What's your name?”

  “LS dash thirty-two.”

  “Okay, but what's your real name?” Alexa prompted further.

  “LS dash thirty-two,” the figure repeated. “I don't have any other name.” His voice still sounded hoarse and unused.

  “Right,” Alexa said, trying really hard not to be exasperated. “LS it is then. We can figure out something else for you later, I guess. Look, are you thirsty? Your voice doesn't sound all that great.”

  LS just blinked at her slowly. He still looked disorientated, and Alexa took pity on him. Poor g
uy–it couldn't be easy to wake up from whatever cocktail of gasses had been in that pod, after who only knew how long. And who knew what else had happened to him while he was here, before all the people left or died or... whatever.

  Shaking her head, she moved over to her pack and dug around in it until she found her water bottle, freshly restocked from one of the bathrooms upstairs. LS just watched her, apparently unconcerned that Alexa might pull out some sort of weapon–but then given how he broke out of that pod, Alexa supposed he really had nothing to be afraid of anyway.

  “Here,” she said, holding out the bottle to LS. “Drink up, might help.” LS gave her a blank look, and Alexa added, “Don't worry, it's not poisoned or anything. I'm one of the good guys. Besides, poisoning is so last generation.”

  She grinned. LS didn't react to the joke. Great–she'd rescued a brick wall disguised as a person.

  But after a moment LS hesitantly reached out and took the bottle. His first gulp was tentative, but once the water hit his tongue his eyes widened and he drank faster and faster, like a man dying of thirst.

  Alexa winced a little at how fast he went through it all–instinct and experience told her water needed to be conserved–but LS seemed marginally less agitated when he was done drinking, so Alexa supposed it was a good thing after all.

  “Okay,” she said, once LS looked a little less disoriented, and less likely to try and pound her face in. She sat back against one of the consoles to rest, and continued. “So, LS... how long have you been here?”

  “I don't know.”

  “Um. Okay. Do you know what happened to everybody else here? You're the first living person I've found all day.”

  “No.” LS's brows knitted together slightly in a frown of confusion.

  Zero for two. They were doing great so far. “Alright, well, do you know why you're here?”

  At this, LS straightened, shoulders pulling back and expression growing confident and controlled for the first time. “I am LS dash thirty-two. A GALF. A clone created to serve and protect the U.S. and its people from all threats, foreign and domestic.”

  Alexa frowned at the words–they sounded almost like a recitation, like something programmed into her companion's head. And what he'd said... a clone? Well, that explained the the number she supposed, he was probably the thirty-second attempt.

  That last part... created to serve and protect the U.S.... Alexa winced internally. LS was a little late to that party; the U.S. had crumbled years ago and it sounded like the clone didn't even know it.

  Maybe, she was wrong and he did know, she'd just have to find out. She tried to find a way to broach the subject, “Oh, so you probably have good endurance then?”

  LS frowned at her, as though she were particularly dense. “Yes. I am a–”

  “Clone, yeah, I got that part,” Alexa cut in hastily. “It's just, that will probably come in handy for all the stuff going on up top.”

  LS seemed confused by this. “Stuff up top?”

  “You know. Z-day. The walking dead. All that fun stuff.”

  “I do not know what you are talking about.”

  Alexa frowned again, worried now. Originally she'd just planned to free this guy, but... he really didn't know anything about the past three years? Just how long had he been stuck in that pod?

  LS seemed to sense her confusion, and his own confused expression deepened again. “What is going on, on the surface? Has someone attacked? Has something dangerous happened?”

  Alexa grimaced. This really wasn't how she'd wanted this to go. “Um. You could say that. Actually you could say that's a major understatement. The world's sort of gone to pieces, in fact. Re-animated dead... super dangerous. It all happened three years ago. It's sort of an apocalypse up there.”

  It was hard to tell in the dark, but LS seemed to pale a little, and his eyes widened. He looked shell-shocked. “That... has to be wrong,” he said after a moment. “That should not... I would have been activated... why was I not... was my purpose changed?”

  He looked so lost and forlorn, the deep frown replaced by something almost disappointed or helpless, that Alexa couldn't help but feel a wave of sympathy for the poor guy. She'd had her own confused questions about what the point of it all was, back when Z-day had first happened; she could relate to the guy's lack of understanding.

  LS had to be incredibly confused and upset by now, waking up to a different world than the one he was expecting, unsure of the point of his existence. Alexa disliked seeing the clone down, even though she'd only known him for a few minutes and half of those minutes had consisted of nearly being killed by him.

  “Cheer up,” she said, and slapped a hand on LS's back, giving him an encouraging half-hug around the shoulders. LS looked a little uncomfortable with and perplexed by the contact, but Alexa rolled right along.

  “Okay, so, maybe things are a little confusing right now, but we'll figure it out! I've got some friends at a colony up the Coast, they might be able to help us get to the bottom of this, and you'll be safe there. In the meantime you can stick with me–I can catch you up on everything that's changed, show you the ropes, teach you some of my tricks. We'll figure all this out together, and then you can decide what you wanna do, once we've gotten some answers.”

  LS seemed puzzled by this. “I can... decide?” he asked slowly, as though the concept of making his own decisions was foreign to him.

  Inwardly Alexa cringed at the poor guy's confusion. Was it really so hard to accept the fact that he could make his own choices? Created to serve and protect the U.S. and it's people from all threats, foreign and domestic. Created as a weapon, more like. Alexa's disgust with Gentech was gradually growing to hatred, the longer she interacted with what was clearly their pet project.

  But outwardly she kept her blinding, cheerful grin plastered on her face, and said, “Well, sure! I mean it's your life, right? You get to pick how you want to live it.”

  LS seemed to consider this very carefully for a moment, before asking a new question. “Why do you want to help me?”

  Alexa was openly shocked by that one. “Well, I said I would, for starters,” she said, “and I'm not going to just leave you down here, that's just wrong. I mean, we're friends now, right, LS? I pulled you out of a pod and you decided to not punch my brains into mush, which is more than I can say for most of the zoms out there, so, y'know, that pretty much settles that.”

  “Friends,” LS repeated slowly.

  “Yeah. Friends. People who look out for each other and help each other out,” Alexa said, her exasperation lightly laced with sarcasm.

  “I know the definition,” LS said. There was a slight growl to his tone, which was a little scary, but it was also the first sign of personality that Alexa had seen in him. His voice softened after a moment, and he added, “I just... I'm not sure why...” A pause. “Do you really think I could find answers at this... colony you mentioned?”

  “Sure,” Alexa said. She hoped, anyway. Of course, she'd have to bring something to increase their odds, because she was pretty sure there would be no remote-hacking this facility that had clearly been off the grid even before Z-day happened.

  She started searching the computer console in front of the now-shattered pod, adding, “If anybody can find answers, it's my buddy up at the island refuge. He's got experience with this stuff. And you'll get out of this place too, to somewhere safe. You can meet more people, see how the world is... let it help you figure out what you want to do.”

  Aha, jackpot–Alexa grinned when she found a discarded, dusty flash-drive wedged in between two of the consoles. Hopefully this would have the information they needed, because there was no way she could bring the console back with her. She pocketed the drive on her person–too valuable to put anywhere else–and turned to her companion, still grinning. “So? Whadya say?”

  LS stared at her for a moment, but then nodded, and offered an almost tentative smile, like he wasn't exactly sure how to form one yet because he'd never done
it before. Based on everything she'd learned, Alexa wouldn't be surprised to learn this was the case. “Alright. I will travel with you... what do we need to do?”

  “For starters, you need new clothes,” Alexa said, eyeing LS critically. “That whatever it is–”

  “Stasis suit.” LS interrupted immediately.

  “Whatever,” Alexa said. “It stands out. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves. Most of the time it's just the zombies we need to look out for, but you do occasionally get these roving bands of, well, bandits, that like to take advantage of the chaos, and you really don't want to catch their attention either...”

  LS frowned. “Why don't you just fight them?” he asked, with a hint of disdain and impatience.