Free Testing Zero: a dystopian post-apocalyptic young adult novella series (Remnants of Zone Four Chronicles Book 1) by N. G. Simsion, James Roth Page B

at Lefty, shaking his head. “My name’s Hawk. You’ve got a few screws loose, don’t you, kid?”
    “I sure do, sir.” Lefty beamed. “My name is Lefty. I’m not scared of nothin’.”
    “I can see that.” He smiled down at Lefty like an adult would look at an amusing child. Humored. Patronizing.
    “I want to work the front lines with you guys.” Lefty said. “I want to be out there scouting the old world for good places to build cities. Fighting Remnants.”
    Hawk laughed. “You’re kind of small for a scout, don’t ya think?”
    “I’m small outside, but big inside.” He pounded his chest with his fist.
    “Yeah? We’ll see about that.” Hawk stared him in the eye for a moment, sizing him up.
    “So, why are you guys bringing these Remnants into the city?” Lefty asked.
    Brawn grinned. “We’re always looking for a few more people who could be frontline scouts. We’re here to watch people fight inside the cages.”
    Zero’s heart stopped when he realized what the scout was saying.
    “Yeah, but why did you bring the—” Lefty apparently realized what this meant also and his face flushed with embarrassment that he even began to repeat his question—that it took him this long to put the pieces together. He looked up at the fighting cage, and then at the smaller cage containing the three Remnants next to it. “If I want to prove I’ve got what it takes to be a frontline scout, I have to fight one of these guys?”
    Brawn shook his head and grinned. “No. You have to fight all three of them.”
    It was a rare thing to see Lefty nervous and intimidated by anything. He stared at the cages, contemplating the implications of what he was getting himself into. “Makes sense. What happens if I win, but get bitten during the fight? I’ll be infected too.”
    “Nah. These guys have been neutralized. They’ve been given an injection to kill the virus, which makes it so they’re not contagious. Their brains are still fried, though. They act the same as any other Remnant—fighting and biting just like them. They still may kill you in there,” Brawn smiled, “but they won’t infect you.”
    “Oh. Okay,” Lefty breathed a sigh of relief.
    “We’re sick of people putting up a good fight against one of their peers during the tryouts,” Hawk said, “but then they cower in fear when they see their first Remnant in the woods.”
    Lefty felt a sudden rush of excitement. He looked down at the sleeping Remnant. He’d seen them now and had been up close and personal with them. Not only that, but two of the three were even smaller than him. “Count me in,” he said with a smile.
    “Really? You realize you’ll have to win two fights in the same day. Win your fight against one of the other students, and then win your fight against the Remnants.”
    “Absolutely.” Lefty held out his right hand to shake again.
    Hawk shook it, and then looked down at it. “Are you sure you want to do this, kid? You look a little banged up already.”
    “My hand is just fine. There’s no way I’ll lose.”

Chapter 10
    ZERO STOOD BY AND WATCHED inside the locker room as Brawn wrapped Lefty’s hands with white sports tape in preparation for his big fight. After finishing with the tape, Lefty pulled on a pair of thin black leather gloves that covered his knuckles but left his fingers exposed.
    Zero sighed and shook his head when Lefty stood in front of the mirror to admire his fists, pounding them together. Lefty then bounced around the locker room, warming up.
    “I’ve got to visualize my victory,” Lefty said. He stood again in front of the mirror and boxed at his own reflection.
    “Alright. So what’s that look like?” Zero asked.
    “Well, the referee is holding up my hand. Preferably my left. That’s my good hand.”
    “No. I mean, what’s your plan of attack?”
    “I should probably stick to my strengths.”
    “Which are?”
    “You know. You’ve seen me fight loads of times.”
    “So what are