Read Z 2136 (Z 2134 Series Book 3) for Free Online Page B

had been an underground train station built before The Plague. She said the tunnels stretched for miles, though Station residents had sealed most of them to prevent bandits from raiding their home.
    The tunnels were mostly industrial gray, some blue, and plastered with old posters announcing T HE M AG L IVE T RAIN with travel photos showing wide open vistas—brilliant swaths of green beckoning you to lands lost long before. Most of the halls were dimly lit by wide squares of light, which only flickered on as they entered.
    The place felt claustrophobic and lifeless, save for their own echoing footsteps and voices as they walked.
    After turning another corner in an endless series of The Station’s maze, Ana smelled something that both pulled her back to her childhood and made her stomach growl.
    “Is someone baking . . . bread? ” It seemed like forever since she’d smelled fresh bread.
    “Yes,” Calla said with a smile. “And through these doors ahead, we are home.”
    Two more guards stood at a set of blue double doors, one a young woman of about 20, the other an older, heavyset man. Both wore City Watch uniforms, though they’d patched over The City Watch insignia with skulls, and neither wore the visors, likely useless without the associated City Watch tech. A shock stick dangled from each guard’s belt.
    “Hello, Calla,” the woman said with a smile. “And hello, newcomers.”
    The older man, while not smiling, wasn’t unpleasant. “Welcome,” he said as they opened the doors to what Calla called home.
    Ana stared, wanting to believe her eyes, hard as it was. There was a large central space with people talking to one another and children playing, which was surrounded by what looked to be former offices turned into homes.
    The walls were alive with earth tones: warm terra cotta that swirled into an almost chocolate brown. Up top, maybe to mimic the sky, there was a line of icy blue that smeared into a smudgy sunset of yellow and orange at the room’s edges. Two walls were covered with curtains, one deep green and the other a rich burgundy. Neither really matched the rest of the room but both were somehow warm. Ana felt suddenly safe, seemingly inhaling their color.
    In addition to the vibrant colors of the walls, children’s paintings lined them and decorated the windows of the homes. Many of the windows were also covered with curtains, and there were wooden doors with numbers like addresses, like many homes in City 6. Strings of colored lights ran along the ceiling and lined the place in a beauty that could only come from somewhere called home .
    People congregated in the halls, conversing. Children played, many smiling at Ana, Katrina, and Liam.
    Ana asked how many people called The Station home. Calla ignored the firm look from the boy who’d helped rescue them and said, “Sixty-four.” Then, after a moment, as if realizing she’d slipped with such a dangerous confession, added, “But we’re all very well trained. So don’t think of trying anything.”
    Ana tried not to laugh at the girl’s attempt to carry a swagger she couldn’t quite manage. As Calla led them down the wide hallway, they were greeted by numerous people. Many seemed to recognize her. She assumed they’d somehow watched The Games down here, though she had yet to see a screen besides the Orb’s.
    Katrina and Liam looked uncomfortable as they smiled and waved. Ana reached for Liam’s hand and squeezed it. She smiled and mouthed, “I love you.”
    He mouthed the words back and seemed to relax—though not entirely. Old habits die hard.
    They turned with the hallway and reached a single black door at the end.
    “This is my father’s office. He’s The Station’s leader.”
    Ana noticed that the girl had said “office,” not “home,” but didn’t question her.
    “He would like to talk to you first, Ana. If you two don’t mind waiting.”
    Katrina turned to Ana, her lips pursed, looking like she minded quite a