LOGINThe mutant zombie roared.Its breath hit my face, hot and rotten. Its huge, vine-wrapped arm swung down toward Elese."Duke! Ghost!"The two dogs leaped through the air and slammed into the monster's side. It stumbled one step to the left, and its fist smashed into a table instead of Elese's head. Pots and dirt exploded everywhere.Elese fell backward onto the floor, clutching the silver case to her chest."Rocco! Tank! Bite its legs!"Rocco grabbed one ankle and Tank grabbed the other. Their teeth sank deep. The monster roared and kicked, but the dogs held on with all their super strength.Maple stood in front of me, barking so loud the cracked glass above us rattled.I ran forward and swung my shovel at the monster's knee.*CRACK.*It bent sideways, but the monster didn't fall. It turned and swiped at me with its other arm. I ducked under it and rolled across the dirty floor."Zora!" Wade shouted. He threw his hand forward, and a spear of water slammed into the monster's face. It sh
Nobody moved.The tip of the crossbow bolt pointed right between my eyes. Behind me, I heard Wade slowly pull his gun from his belt."Don't," I said quietly, without turning around.Wade froze.Maple growled low. The other four dogs spread out around me, their eyes locked on the thin woman."Who are you?" the woman asked. Her voice was rough and dry, like she hadn't used it in days. "Why are you here?""I heard your call on the radio," I said. "Last night."Her eyes flickered for a second. But the crossbow didn't move."Lots of people heard it," she said. "Some came. They wanted my food, my water, and my greenhouse. None of them came to help.""I'm not here for your greenhouse.""Then what do you want?"I slowly held out my empty hand."Release."A can of beef stew dropped into my palm. The woman's eyes went wide.I tossed it to her. She caught it with one hand, still holding the crossbow with the other.She looked down at the can. Her hands started to shake. Her throat moved as she s
I didn't go back to sleep.I sat on the edge of my bed with the radio in my hand and waited. Elese Harlow's voice didn't come back. Only soft static filled the room.A botanist.I thought about the farm behind the tunnel. The god-tier soil made my crops grow fast. June's plant power made them grow even faster. But June was old, and her power was small.If this Elese really knows plants, and if she has an ability like June's but stronger...Then when she joins my camp, I'll get her power too.I stood up and started getting dressed.I need someone who can make food grow even faster. Someone like her.---The sky was still gray when I knocked on Wade's door.He opened it with messy hair and one sock on. "Zora? What's wrong?""Get dressed," I said. "We're leaving in ten minutes.""Where are we going?""Calloway University. We're picking someone up."He blinked twice. Then he nodded and closed the door. Nine minutes later, he was standing by the armored car with his gun on his belt and his
The sun was going down when we drove back through the gate of Coldbrook Ridge.The armored car was covered in dust, dents, and dried zombie blood. The dogs in the back were tired and quiet. Wade leaned against the window with his eyes half closed.I sat in the passenger seat with the giant gleamstone in my lap. Even inside my closed hand, its green light leaked out between my fingers.As soon as the car stopped, I jumped out and walked to the middle of the yard.I opened my hand and looked at the stone one more time."Exchange."The stone glowed brighter and brighter until I had to squint. Then it disappeared.*Ding.**[Level 2 gleamstone detected. Exchange successful.]**[Reward: 2,000 points.]*I let out a long breath. *Two thousand points from just one stone.*Behind me, Wade climbed out of the car and stretched. He didn't see the blue screen. To him, it just looked like the stone had vanished into thin air.He raised an eyebrow. "Where did it go?""Somewhere safe," I said.He open
*BOOM.*The far end of the overpass exploded upward in a cloud of dust and broken concrete. Something huge climbed up over the edge.It was a zombie. But not like any normal zombie.It was almost twice as tall as a man. Its gray skin was stretched tight over giant, swollen muscles. Thick bony spikes stuck out of its shoulders and back. Its jaw hung open, full of long, yellow teeth.It let out a roar so loud that the windows of the nearby cars shattered."Damn it!" I shouted. "A Level 2 mutant zombie!"*In my past life, these didn't show up until months after the outbreak. Why is one here already?*The monster slammed its fist down on a car. The roof crumpled like paper."Fall back!" I yelled. "Forget the tanker! We're getting out of here!""I've got it, Zora!" Wade shouted. He was already running toward the half-full tanker. "You drive! I'll hook up the trailer!"*Stupid idiot.*He didn't know I had already stored the two full tankers in my system. The half-full one wasn't worth riski
Nikolai looked at me for a long, silent moment. His gray eyes were hard as steel."Zora," he said slowly, "I'll pay back what I owe you. But I will never leave my brother behind.""And nobody takes what belongs to me," I said.He reached into his backpack and pulled out the leather pouch again."One hundred twenty gleamstones," he said. "I'll bring them to you within a month.""No way."His jaw tightened. "Twelve hundred, then! Twelve hundred!"The soldiers gasped. Toby's mouth fell open. Twelve hundred gleamstones was a fortune, enough to buy food for a whole camp for months.I didn't even blink."No amount will work," I said.Nikolai took a step closer to me. The air between us felt tight, like a rope about to snap."Captain."Wade stepped forward and put a hand on Nikolai's arm."This is my own choice," Wade said quietly. "I want to stay."Nikolai turned and looked at him. For the first time, his hard face cracked a little."Is this really what you want?" he asked.Wade nodded. "I'







