The Service Centre (Zombie Transference Book 1)

by Tom Germann

  “Sure, sir. I’ll take Private Tocker. You want us to check out the local area only or try to go further into that subdivision and see what the town is like?”

  “You need to check out the first few rows of subdivision and that gas station. If there are people around and everything looks normal, sure, go into town. If you don’t see anyone or you get a bad feeling, then just come back. Don’t take any risks on this one.”

  Steven said, “Sergeant, why are you taking the private you chose? He’s been outside the most. Shouldn’t he stay in and you could take someone else like Sam or another soldier?”

  Caisson shook his head. “Private Tocker likes the heat and does well in it, even if it is a humid heat. He also really likes the outdoors. I need someone who will follow and do what they are told. Our other guys are also not as good at sneaking around out in the field. Tocker’s the best choice in my mind.”

  Wagner nodded. “Your call. One other thing. When you get over there, check out the vehicles. What condition are they in.”

  “No problem. We eat and we’ll leave in twenty minutes.” Caisson waved to Private Tocker and talked quietly with him for a minute before both headed to the back to grab food.

  Steven looked at Wagner. “Shouldn’t he go out at night? Or put on camouflage stuff? Or something?”

  Jimmy came over. “Steve, I think the army guys know what they are doing. Just checking out the local area makes sense, the gas station may have local maps or other information and if the cars work, we can take them and get out of here.”

  Janice looked up from the table. “We are NOT stealing some other people’s cars. Steven, we are NOT going to get into stolen vehicles so that we can be arrested later!”

  Warrant Officer Wagner held his hands up in a wait gesture. “Sergeant Caisson is going out and will check the local area. By now, anyone local should have seen us or we should have seen them. We are going to check vehicles over just in case we need to leave, say, because the area has been evacuated for whatever reason. We need the information NOW. If no one is around and we get any proof that we should leave, I want us to be able to bug out fast. If there is some reason that we should or should not take the vehicles… We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

  “Alright, everyone! Let’s get lunch done. We need to get some more work done and we can’t do that until we eat!”

  Everyone got up and headed for the counter. Janice took Sal by the arm and brought him along as well.

  On Patrol

  Everyone finished eating and Private Weibe cleaned up with Sal. They emptied all the garbage bags and tied them off, dumping them out back.

  Richard grabbed the keys and with Sam, Susie, and Corporal Vajjer, went into the car shop and worked on securing the outer door with the bad lock. Then they emptied the shop office of the emergency preparedness supplies.

  The office had been emptied of furniture and was being used as a storage room.

  In the main building, Tracy, Wagner, Janice, and Sal pulled out any boxes that were sturdy enough to hold equipment. They also pulled out whatever bags or backpacks they could find in case they would indeed walk out later. The soldiers’ backpacks were not that large and already half full of their personal equipment, but they also would work better than anything else jury-rigged.

  Taking over on the roof, Steven went up with Private Andries, another umbrella, and a small tarp they had found. They also lifted two folding chairs up. They were going to set up a more comfortable position to watch from and they also took a small lunch bag cooler with drinks, as the heat of the day was getting even worse.

  Sergeant Caisson and Private Tocker emptied their backpacks of everything. They grabbed bottled sports drinks, rags, and some tools from the garage, including a short pry bar which was stuck in an easily accessed side pouch of a backpack. They had also pulled open a set of short range radios, which Caisson put in his chest pocket. After adjusting everything, they were ready to head out.

  The rest of the people in the service centre were watching as they talked to Wagner by the front door.

  “Be careful, Sergeant.”

  “Not a problem, sir. The place looks deserted.”

  “When you head out, just treat it like it’s bad and be careful. Cam isn’t important, silence and safety is. Crap, hang on.” Wagner disappeared into the back and headed into the garage.

  He was back a minute later with a box of latex mechanic’s gloves. “Here, take some of these.”

  Caisson frowned. “Really? It’s like a million degrees out there and we are just going to sweat and end up tearing them.”

  “In case there are contaminants. Put them on before you open any doors or touch stuff, and they’re for mechanics, so they’re thicker. I’m going to hold onto the radio. Call in every fifteen minutes IF you can. I will NOT be calling you. If you are going to be over an hour, let me know. If something goes wrong, the security word is ‘busy child,’ got it? Your sign is two, mine will be one.”

  “Not exactly top notch comms procedure, sir.”

  “Eh, we aren’t exactly using top notch military gear, you know?”

  Both soldiers nodded and grabbed a pair of gloves they stuffed into a pocket. They nodded at everyone and walked out, turning left to walk along the front of the building. Tocker waved at everyone before they disappeared around the corner.

  The group inside turned away and the sounds of people moving and working were heard throughout the building while up top, the two kept an eye out for any sort of movement.

  Recce

  Sergeant Caisson walked along the front of the garage and waved at the guys working inside. He stopped just short of the corner and waved Tocker back to the building next to him. He carefully looked around the corner and then pulled back.

  “Okay, Private, we are going ahead from here on out just like any other recce patrol. We stay low and move fast to the tree line. We do NOT move like we are just walking along in the park. You stay behind me and move like I do. Got it?

  “Yes, Sergeant!”

  “Keep it down, man. How is that hammer you have? Can you swing that bad boy and cave a skull in if you have to?”

  “Yes, Sergeant, but I thought it was to open doors or stuff?”

  “We haven’t seen anyone yet. The warrant is right though, safety first. OUR safety. If you need to, I need to know that you can take out someone trying to kill me close up?”

  “Yes, Sergeant! If anyone attacks us, we’ll kill them!”

  “NO. Geez, man. We use the force we need to. Don’t kill somebody ‘cause they are yelling at us as we walk on their property, alright? CLEAR hostile action. Got it?”

  “Yes, Sergeant, I got it and can do it.”

  “Good. The first place we are going is the gas pumps we saw. They’re about forty feet away. We run. I go into the shack and you stay outside, keeping an eye out. Clear?”

  “Clear, Sergeant. What are we looking for?”

  “Anything, Tocker, anything.”

  Caisson took off at a run toward the shack. He was almost doubled over. A second later, Private Tocker took off, leaving lots of space between them. The sergeant slowed right before he hit the building itself. He had the pry bar in his hand and waited for Private Tocker to be in position with his hammer.

  The building was just a shack. It was maybe six feet by eight feet, and made of sun-blasted wood. The single door was on the same side as the gas pumps. There were small windows all the way around it that were covered in dirt.

  Sergeant Caisson was breathing carefully and then he stopped and put a glove on his left hand. Pry bar in his right, he carefully took the door handle and opened it quickly. He whipped around, ready to smash anyone hiding in the head.

  The inside was dark and mostly empty. There was a small, old stool and a table. There were also a few sheets of greying paper on the table.

 
Tocker was watching from the doorway.

  Caisson turned and sighed. “Private Tocker, do not watch me. Watch the outside now. There ain’t anything in here worth the watching.”

  The private stepped out and started watching the surrounding area. The sergeant grumbled, “Newbies.” He walked to the table and used the glove-covered hand to flip through the few sheets of paper.

  There were penciled-in numbers on a chart. The date on the page was April 19, 1998.

  The sergeant dropped the papers back on the table, cursing quietly and heading outside. He took a look at the gas pumps. They looked ancient, like something out of the 1950s, but they also looked newer and like they were used with lots of dings and chips out of their paint and that faint smell of gas in the air.

  He leaned in and took a sniff, but there was no odour other than hot metal in the sunlight. He lifted the nozzle off its hood and gave it a shake, then flipped the switch on the side. Nothing obviously, as there was no power. He turned the power switch back to off and then hung the nozzle back on its hook.

  He saw a large wooden board lying on the ground. He crouched down and carefully lifted it up by one side. It was a large board that numbers could be put on and it had a small folding part on the back that would allow it to stand on its own. He read the numbers. “Four dollars and eighty cents. That seems kind of high for a gallon.” He carefully put the board down and stood up.

  He looked at Private Tocker. “Okay, nothing here. We are going to the houses. We’re going around that corner--” He pointed. “--and heading for the tree line. It’s about a hundred and twenty feet to the tree line from here. We move through the tree line and find whatever properties are closest or have the best cover to get inside. Don’t flip and break an ankle. We don’t know what the ground is like inside the tree line. Again, you’re the eyes while I figure out what we are doing. Got it?”

  Tocker nodded. “Yes, Sergeant. I look everywhere so that you can figure out what we’re doing.”

  Caisson nodded and then moved to the edge of the shack. He took off at a run as fast as he could, slowing down just before he made it to the tree line. Tocker was right behind him.

  There was no movement in the tree line and there was not that much underbrush.

  He looked back and forth, then slowly started moving in. He stopped and turned back to the service centre. He looked for where the observation post was and could see the rounded umbrellas. He carefully waved and then turned back to the tree line.

  Beside him, Tocker was looking around for any movement or anything out of the ordinary.

  Sergeant Caisson moved into the woods with Private Tocker a few feet behind.

  Out of the sun, the heat was still oppressive but at least they weren’t burning. The underbrush was minor and there weren’t very many rocks to trip them up. The few rocks that were there were large and jutted out of the ground at weird angles.

  Both men moved slowly through the tree line, looking around for anything.

  The tree line at this spot wasn’t that thick so after a few dozen feet, they were looking at a subdivision past slightly overgrown fields.

  Caisson took a knee behind a tree and pulled out the small two-way radio, pushing the button on the side. The radio chirped loudly and both winced.

  Cursing under his breath, he turned the volume down and then pressed the switch again.

  “One, this is Two. Radio check, over.”

  A tinny voice whispered back, “Two, this is One. Loud and clear, over.”

  “Two out.”

  He put the radio back in his pocket and looked around. The open fields came right up to the tree line, which meant moving through open space. In the distance, it looked like the field ended and the tree line came almost up to the houses a few hundred feet away.

  The sergeant stood and gestured at Tocker, who nodded. Sergeant Caisson pointed at the route they would take and then gestured for him to keep his eyes open. Tocker nodded again and they pulled back a bit further into the tree line before slowly walking toward their target.

  With the heat of the day pressing down on them, they slowly moved forward, stopping occasionally to wipe the sweat from their faces.

  Stockchecking Inside The Service Centre

  Wagner looked at the pile of ‘stuff’ sitting on and around the counter. There were two generators, a series of outdoor work lights, blankets, and a lot of sealed boxes.

  Richard had a checklist and looked at it with a scowl. “Okay, we have thirty wool blankets, one ‘whisper quiet’ one-K Honda generator, a ‘husky’ two-K generator, a medium-sized first aid kit, a box of road flares, ‘emergency water purification system small,’ four boxes of emergency ‘power bars,’ some power cords, and a bunch of other little stuff in the two smaller boxes there,” he said, pointing at two small boxes on the counter. “Matches, safety pins, log books, and a bunch of other small stuff like that. Oh! There are also two stretchers that fold up. All useless stuff.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Vajjer looked at Richard like he was nuts. “The small generator can power all the power tools in the shop and the lights we have here. The bigger generator can probably power some of the fridges or freezers.”

  Steven nodded. “And the women can use the stretchers for beds and the wool blankets will give the rest of us some padding for tonight.”

  Richard nodded slowly. “But no vehicles, satellite phones, weapons, or anything else that will get us out of this.”

  Janice made a large ‘hmmph’ sound and said, “All we need to do is walk out of here tomorrow morning and find out what happened, Richard. After that, we can go home and live our lives. At least you can have the large generator running and keep everything in the fridge and freezer from spoiling.”

  Sam put his hand up. “At least we found those four gas cans. With that, those generators can run at least for a while. Otherwise, they were just paperweights.”

  Everyone nodded. Finding a dozen gas cans under a tarp in the shop hadn’t done much until they realized that four were almost full.

  Jimmy said, “You know, I’ve been thinking. I was looking at those old gas pumps over there through the binoculars. I think this was some sort of retro thing. But if they are like the originals, there would be a hand-crank to pump gas out manually in case the power was out. I think they’re still in use and maybe we could get a bit more gas out.”

  “That would be worth a try,” Vajjer said.

  Wagner nodded. “Later when they come back, we can take a look at that. We have bags for each of us for tomorrow to walk out. We’ll pack them with the food and water right before we go. The bags are not going to be super heavy and we could even strap stuff onto the two stretchers and take more with us that way.” Everyone looked at the bulky stretchers. “I know. If anyone has a better idea on how to move a bunch of stuff, let me know. Any cart would be nice if it had larger wheels.”

  Corporal Vajjer stood. “Hey, Richard, how about we hook the smaller generator up right now to the fridges and freezers and run it? We can put it in the shop and stick the exhaust out the exhaust port in the door. We won’t hear it at all in here and should use less gas.”

  Richard also stood. “Okay.” He started grabbing extension cords and power strips while Vajjer picked up the smaller generator and started for the door to the car shop.

  The radio on the counter crackled and Sergeant Caisson’s voice came out. “One, this is Two. Message, over.”

  The warrant officer picked up the radio and pressed the switch. “Two, this is One. Send, over.”

  Everyone stopped work to listen to the conversation.

  “Two, we are at the edge of the tree line close to the gas station. We will proceed. You will not hear from us and I am turning the radio off unless we can find a secure location. Over.”

  “One, roger. Over.”

  “This is Two, out.”

>   The generator came on and after a loud rumble, settled down to a quiet purr. Vajjer walked back into the service centre reeling out an extension cord behind him, and he carefully closed the door on it. He handed it over to Richard, who started plugging in a power strip.

  He then walked over to Wagner. “The hoses are metal, so I wrapped them in rags before putting them in the exhaust port. The vibration can be pretty loud with those. I also moved some of the toolboxes on wheels between the door and the generator to act as a block to the sound. I don’t even think you could hear this outside through the closed door.”

  The warrant officer nodded. “Good stuff. Okay, we seem to be mostly up to speed. Is there anything else we could or should take with us on the way out tomorrow?”

  Vajjer nodded. “Did you see that little tech section they have here? I am totally going to clear that out. Come on, I’ll show you.”

  Both men walked to the small display case to see what was available.

  The Edge Of The Forest

  Sergeant Caisson shut the radio off and put it back in his pocket. . He stood up. This was creepy.

  Tocker whispered, “Sergeant!”

  “What?”

  “There is no noise. I mean, you can hear some crickets, but there are no birds chirping or dogs barking. It’s too quiet.”

  Caisson took a deep breath and released it. “I know. We drink now and then move. Clear?”

  “Clear, Sergeant.”

  While Tocker kept an eye out, the sergeant had him turn and then he went into a side pouch of the bag, pulling out a sports drink. He carefully popped the top and drank deeply. He tapped Tocker’s shoulder and handed it to him. They went back and forth until it was empty and then put back in the bag, making sure it was closed up tight.