Reset: A Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Fantasy (Contaminant Series Book 1) by Eli Frost Duham Read Free Book Online

nothing else, a microscope should tell us something.  We’ll find you all later after we meet with the others.”
    As Michael stood, so did Jenna.  He could see Anna reach up to give Peter a quick kiss out of the corner of his eye.  Michael loosely minded his own business as did Jenna.
    ***
    Moments later, Peter and a crisp speed walk were leaving the library followed by Michael.  Peter rounded a corner and came up on the elevators.  He hit the up arrow, causing it to light up green.  When Michael came around the corner, only a second later, the elevator was just preparing to open.  They entered the elevator and Peter signaled for the 3th floor.  For Michael, the time seemed to slow and the silence was just a tad bit awkward.  The elevator door finally closed.
    Michael went back and forth in his head before he finally spoke.
     “So… you and Anna?” Michael tried not to mean anything by it.
    Peter looked over at Michael with a lighthearted smile, “Yeah?  What about it?”
    Michael shrugged, “She’s so… tough.”  With that last word, Michael grimaced as if to reiterate his point.
    Peter only half-smiled and said, “A product of her time.  Where she grew up, you had to be tough.  And in any case…” Peter grinned at him, “She’s a real sweetheart.  She’s only tough on you.”
    By now, the elevator had come to a stop and the doors were opening.
    Peter nodded for Michael to get a move on and stepped off.
    They walked for quite some time across the built-in skywalk connecting the different buildings together.  At one point, they took another elevator down four floors.  They made their way to the indoor pool.
    Michael entered after Peter and stopped, his jaw hanging wide open.  The pool had been drained and filled with close to three feet of dirt.  The pool even had thin posts on a grid system.  They sat upright in the soil creating a semi-solid structure from which the UV lights could hang.  A combo of straw and dirt was strewn about the floor forming a plush step.  It was prevented from spilling over into the pool by the thin posts against the pool wall.  They had been wrapped in plastic that extended under the organic makeshift floor.  It even smelled like a garden.  One locker room housed chickens and other housed rabbits and a handful of pigs.
    Peter walked up to a table to the left of the pool and grabbed a chart.  He flipped it around to where Michael could see it,
    “You work; you eat.  That’s how it is.  We have a few shift managers that keep an eye on things.  This here is a list of chores that need to be done daily.  When you show up, print your name and clock-in time.  Get a shift manager to sign off on your arrival.  Then, get to work.  When you get done, clock out, sign your name and have a shift manager sign off on it.  You’ll get a ticket for food.  DON’T LOSE IT. 
    “There’s a black market around here somewhere, operating off selling tickets.  Money’s damned near no good anymore, so… you don’t want to know what they trade in.  Some people double up on shifts so that they can save up a couple tickets.  That’s they only way to get a day off and still eat.”
    Peter turned to Michael who was nodding his head.  He looked like he understood, but he really looked more like an overactive bobble head.
    “One more thing,” Peter added, “The best way to make sure that you don’t lose out on tickets is to come-in early.  You don’t want to run out of tickets on a day where everyone decides to double up.”
    Michael took a deep breath and with that he said, “Let’s get started.”
    ***
    Peter worked alongside Michael for the next four hours, showing him the ropes.  Michael felt good about pushing his body hard but Peter hardly broke a sweat.  They finished up and Peter lead Michael to the bird bath where they took turns loosely dousing themselves in water to get some of the straw, feathers and dirt off of them. 
    The younger man was