Operation Z by Szepanski, G.D. (well read books .txt) 📗

Jim laughed out load at the message. “An oasis?... They have the threat isolated?” He wondered if anyone bought this obvious propaganda. Was anyone left to even consider the message? The grim thought wiped the smile from Jim’s face. No sense waiting for help to come, Jim would make his own help today.

Before he headed into town to start his work, Jim climbed the stairs to the bedroom for one last look out from the balcony. He didn’t expect to see law enforcement or government officials, but he wanted to minimize the chance of any surprises waiting for him. When he served in the Problem Solvers, he had been a part of a four-man team. Here Jim had no backup, so he needed to rely on his skills alone. No living humans present, but Jim counted 27 zombies. They roamed the streets in small groups with no discernable purpose, like teenagers on a Friday night before the world fell. He assumed there would be more zombies waiting down there outside of his view. Better to predict trouble and not find it than to be surprised.

The keys for the GTO hung from a hook on the wall in the home’s mud room. Jim found an 18-inch billhook saw in the garage and he packed it along with the Mossberg for his trip into town. He turned the key and the Pontiac V8 roared to life with a satisfying rumble coming from the dual exhaust. If you’re going to kill zombies in a new town, then you might as well do it in style.

With the top down, the wind blew through Jim’s hair, bringing back memories of driving his Dad’s GTO in Iowa. Jim had restored and hot rodded it to honor his father’s memory, but it was a hardtop with a 4-speed manual transmission. This car flew and Jim wondered if the previous owner replaced the 400 with a later model 455 cubic inch engine. He imagined driving through the Iowa farmland in better times rather than heading into an unknown town in Tennessee to slaughter flesh eating monsters.

Jim sped down the town’s main street and screeched to a stop next to a gang of five zombies. He leapt from the car and put the billhook saw into action. Five compact swings and five corpses decorated the street. The GTO’s engine snarled its eagerness for further action, and Jim spun the tires as he closed on the next group. A repeat of the results for the first group, except there were only four monsters loitering here. For the next hour and a half, Jim screamed through the town with the GTO littering the ground with zombie bodies. He’d have to find some heavy equipment later to clean up the rotting corpses before they stank. The town’s DOT was currently on a permanent vacation and wouldn’t be handling clean up.

After two days of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Jim checked out the local grocery store to find some decent food. The main electricity feed had been out at the house Jim commandeered, so it surprised him when the store’s door slid open in front of him. He carried the Mossberg in front of him in a ready position and found every other light illuminated inside the store. A back up power source kept things operational here, so Jim decided to take advantage of this while he could. Cold beer and steak went into his cart for the quick trip home. He packed the remaining meat into the freezers, hoping to preserve it for as long as possible. Jim would eat like a king, at least for today.

His euphoria turned to caution when he found three teenagers standing outside the store near the GTO. Two males and one female. They carried a couple of baseball bats and a machete with them.

“Hi there. Do you like the car?” All three flinched when Jim spoke.

“It’s a 67 Goat. What’s not to like.” One of the two boys spoke with a smile on his face.

“Cool. You’re a car guy. Are the three of you from around here?” Three sets of eyes darted about, but no one responded to his question.

“That’s alright. You don’t have to say. Look, there’s plenty of food inside the store. I’m going to cook up some steaks. I could grab a few more and cook them for the three of you too.”

“No thanks. We’re doing fine on our own.” The same boy spoke a second time. He must be the leader of the group.

“I can see you’re doing ok. There’s strength in numbers, though. We could work together.”

“We could just take your stuff, old man. We’ll let you go this time, but don’t let us see you around again anymore.” The girl hugged herself with her arms while the other boy looked everywhere except at Jim.

“Please don’t be stupid. I don’t want to hurt any of you. As a matter of fact, I’d like to help you. But please don’t push me to defend myself. It would end badly for the three of you.”

All three looked at each other and then turned and ran away from Jim. “Shit!” He said to himself. Then he yelled after the kids.

“When you’re ready, I’ll be glad to help you.”

Jim stood staring in the direction they had run off in, but he now stood all alone in the street. He loaded the groceries into the car and used the power of the big V8 to spin the car around in the middle of the street. The move would have gotten him a ticket before the end of civilization, but no one noticed now. With the wind in his hair and the roar of the engine, Jim raced back toward his home to make a satisfying lunch and ponder his next move. He now knew for sure there were other survivors, and he wanted to find them and help.

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There’s nothing like fresh grilled steak, and Jim relished every bite. He found an expensive propane