The Service Centre (Zombie Transference Book 1)

by Tom Germann

  There were several neat piles of gear laid out along the wall in the eating area. Everyone looked satisfied that they were done or unhappy as they considered how much weight they were going to have to carry if they didn’t find vehicles they could use.

  With no one going outside and smoking being necessary for some people’s morale, the inside of the building was starting to smell. Everyone had agreed that the indoor smoking area was going to be the shop next door, because they would open those doors when they started working on the cars. The shop smelled anyway.

  The two young sentries were sitting at one of the small tables, drinking and nibbling on trail mix that had been dumped into a bowl.

  Janice and Susie had gone upstairs to relieve the watch until they were able to take over again, which was surprising as Janice had become louder and louder in her complaining.

  When Steven had talked to her, it only seemed to make everything worse until he just stopped talking and she worked in angry silence for the next half-hour.

  Richard also seemed much more tense. He had been caught eating and told to stop. His argument that the food would go bad if they didn’t eat it was ignored, the generator quietly humming in the background and the purring of the refrigerators and freezers showing him for a liar.

  The recce party had not reported in for over twenty minutes, the work was done and everyone seemed to be getting irritable. When people were talking, they were snapping answers and the overall mood was bad.

  The only ones seemingly not affected were the four soldiers who had stayed behind.

  Wagner stood up from where he had been chatting with Sam and Steven. “Okay, everyone. We have individual loads sorted for everyone tomorrow, except for the food and drinks which we load in the morning. We also have the garage ready so that if Sergeant Caisson finds any vehicles, we can check them over and then ride out! We still have a few things to do, though.”

  He stuck a finger up. “First thing, we need an actual count of the fluids and how much are in the shop. We need the basics and it won’t do any good if we don’t have it and don’t find out till tonight. That way the vehicles can be topped up and we can leave tomorrow on time.”

  The next finger went up. “We have basic individual loads set out in bags here. We need to assemble car loads next. If we get enough cars for everyone, let’s pack the trunks FULL. I am definitely eyeing those solar cell rechargers as one thing that should be brought.”

  The third finger went up. “We need to get ready to stay here overnight. We have blankets and a bunch of other stuff, so I am hopeful that we can sleep more comfortably if we prepare. Corporal Vajjer looked around and thinks we can sleep nine people comfortably and the other five maybe not quite so much.”

  He put his hand down. “After that, we need to think about dinner tonight and alternating who is preparing. Cooking is not just a woman’s job here. The same way grungy work is not just a man’s job. Unless everyone is okay with setting specific jobs for people. That can be sorted out later. When the recce group gets back, I want us able to leave fast so that we can bring any vehicles back and get our gearheads working on them.”

  Sam put his hand up. “I noticed those gas pumps over there.” He indicated them with a jerk of his thumb. “My grandfather had a farm and pumps like them. If the power was out, there was a pain in the ass hand-crank system that allowed you to pump gas out REAL slow. We have less than four jerry cans of fuel. I’d like to take the empties over and fill them up. It’s going to take a few hours but I think it’s worth it if we get some vehicles.”

  Wagner nodded. “Good idea. Take Sal there with you to help. Both of you go and start that now, as it will take a lot of time.” He looked around.

  . “Okay are there any questions? Tracy, can you and Richard go upstairs in a bit and give Susie and Janice a break?”

  Tracy nodded glumly.

  “Okay, everyone else. Richard, can you and Corporal Vajjer work up the loads for the cars and give me the lists? I’m going to go inventory the fluids in the shop. We need to get this all done before we have to leave to bring cars over, if there are any. Beds and dinner can wait. Weibe and Andries, you both need to get a bit of downtime and rack out. You’ve been upstairs a lot and you may need to be awake later. Grab an hour and then see if Tracy and Richard need to be switched out.”

  Everyone spread out and moved toward whatever job they were working on.

  Wagner was in the back going through all the different material and had finished the check on engine fluids. They had a bit of everything, but not a lot of it.

  Now he was going through the other consumables that seemed to have been left behind. There were boxes and boxes, but nothing was in order.

  The door to the service centre opened and closed. He ignored it until he heard the footsteps almost next to him. He looked over to see what needed to be decided now.

  It was Susie. She had a baseball cap from the store on her head and a new pack of cigarettes in her hand along with a lighter. She peeled the plastic off of the pack and nodded at him. “How’s the counting going, Warrant?”

  He shrugged. “It’s going well. We don’t have a lot and it’s every different type of item in existence, but at least we have some. I just hope we don’t need to use it.”

  He saw her concerned expression and the hesitant way she was acting, which was different from what she was normally like. “Is there a problem, Susie?” He sighed. “Was one of the privates trying to chat you up again?”

  She giggled and took a cigarette out. “No, not at all. That, I can handle. It’s Janice.” She put the cigarette in her mouth and flicked the lighter on, getting a solid pull. The end glowed bright orange in the murky light. “She was talking about walking out now and heading for town. After twenty minutes upstairs, she agreed with me that leaving right now would be a bad choice because of the heat. THEN she said that she wanted to walk out when the heat breaks in a while. I asked her to wait until we get the cars. She doesn’t want to because it’s stealing and would look bad for her and Steven. I just wanted to let you know. She was talking to me because she is trying to build a group to go. I’d rather drive out and with everyone else.”

  Wagner looked at her. Susie was short, blonde, cute, giggled, and was very smart. Why she liked acting like an airhead was beyond him, but he trusted her judgement. More than he trusted the other three staff of the service centre.

  He sighed, “Thanks for letting me know, Susie. I appreciate it but I can’t do anything to stop her if she really wants to go. Maybe Steven as her husband can convince her, but…” He paused. “Won’t she be upset with you for coming out here and talking to me?”

  She laughed quietly. “Nope. This is the smoking room. I’ve been smoking a lot more than usual ‘cause I’m stressed out and I was chain smoking upstairs. She knows I need the nicotine and didn’t say anything.”

  She took a deep drag on her cigarette. “You know, my grandmam raised me after my parents died. It was more important, the appearances than anything else. I never liked that part of it. But she was all over being smart and not stupid. I guess this is just everyone being in shock and wanting to run around freaking out. But you guys haven’t let us do that yet. Keep it up, Warrant!”

  She butted out the cigarette, dropped it in one of the garbage cans, and went back inside.

  Wagner considered her as she left before he got back to work. It was too bad. She would make a good soldier.

  He finished up quickly. The previous mechanics had in fact had a system for their spare consumables, it just took him a while to find it and there were gaps.

  He put the notepad down on the work bench and put a wrench on it so it wouldn’t move if there was wind when they opened the doors later.

  The radio crackled and he pulled it out, putting the volume up and moving toward the front bay door, hoping for better reception.

  Sergeant Cais
son’s voice came out crisp from the small speaker. “One, this is Two. Message, over.”

  Wagner pressed the switch and spoke into the microphone, “Two, this is One. Send, over”

  “Two, we have moved to the gas station that we saw and are inside the building. The entire subdivision looks abandoned. We are taking a break before we come back in. We have found some good local intel and some area maps that we are bringing back. We are going to come back along the street and check vehicles to make sure that they are not broken. Is there anything you need from us? Over.”

  “One, negative, just come back safe. What is your time estimate to return? Over.”

  “Two, estimate figure three zero mikes. Over.”

  “One, roger that, over.”

  “One, this is Two. Out.”

  Warrant Officer Wagner put the volume back down a bit and then the radio went back into his pocket. He went back into the service centre proper to review what had been pulled and load lists for the vehicles. Every vehicle should have a radio for the drive. They needed to bring duplicates of everything. Was anything else going to go wrong in this creepy place?

  Wagner walked back to the main building where he checked in with Steven and Corporal Vajjer. The load lists were done and reviewed quickly. “Okay, guys, this is good and I like that you have a basic load for vehicles and then more depending on more space in trunks and if we get a pickup or something with a bit of lift capacity. But these loads need to be split up. Every vehicle should be self-sufficient so if we have a breakdown, we can abandon if we need to without have to redistribute the load or suffer from the lack of the items that are abandoned.”

  Steven nodded. “I see your point. We’ll just break this down a bit further. No problem.”

  As Wagner headed for the washroom, Vajjer leaned in. “Redistribute the loads? Are we going further than the next town? Are we expecting bad things to happen? I really hope we aren’t going to come under contact as we look for all the missing people…”

  Wagner nodded. “I hope so too, but I am going to be prepared for the worst so that we have a better chance of surviving.” He kept heading for the washroom while Vajjer went to help Steven.

  In The Gas Station

  Both Private Tocker and Sergeant Caisson were poring over a newspaper open on the counter. Chocolate bars sat ignored and two open bottles of soda were fizzing away. The two empties were in the garbage can. The picture on the front page was of a hospital ward room full of beds filled with people while nurses worked in the background. The caption read, “COMMUNIST PLAGUE STRIKES EAST COAST!” There was another newspaper open next to it with a picture of a large freighter. It was on fire and it looked like people were throwing themselves off. There were lots of small boats around it and armed guards on the pier from where the picture had been taken. This pictures caption read, “COMMUNIST PLAGUE SHIP TRIES DOCKING IN NEW YORK! BRAVE SOLDIERS STAND THEM OFF SAVING NYC!”

  Lower on the page was a picture of a gurney being loaded into a strange looking ambulance. “FIRST CASES REPORTED ON THE WEST COAST!”

  The articles attached to the pictures didn’t really say anything. An outbreak of flu was being blamed on the communists. Thousands were infected and on their deathbed. Illegal immigrants had brought the flu in and boat people from Europe and the Middle East were bringing it as well. There were mentions of the navy sinking ships coming toward the US coastline. The military had been stood up with units on every border patrolling and making ready to repel the invaders. Cases were reported in Canada and Mexico, as well as South America.

  The ‘plague’ had originated in Russia itself and the rumor was that bodies were being burned in mass cremations, along with military redeployments everywhere.

  The two men had already read that, though, and that wasn’t what had snagged their attention. It was noted that the spring and summer were expected to be brutally hot this year and there was hope that global cooling may have been reversed as the communist weather machine was thought to have been destroyed by the resistance. That did not hold up with reality. The date on the newspaper was April 9th, 1998.

  Tocker looked at Caisson. “Sergeant, this flu thing that killed everyone off happened before I was born! How did that happen? I never heard of all of Europe being communist.”

  “Stop. Read through some of those articles. Those things never happened. They have global cooling here? And everything is the fault of the communists? Canada is sort of part of the US? I think maybe this is some sort of big prank. This place has NOT been abandoned for seventeen years. Did you notice that chocolate bar you ate? They didn’t have expiry dates, but the chocolate is still dark. Remember the ration packs you get where the honey has crystalized in its package? Or the chocolate has turned white and hard? If it had been over ten years, the chocolate would be WAY different and these bars are tasty.”

  He reached over and grabbed another chocolate bar, unwrapping it and then taking a bite.

  Tocker looked uncertain. “But, Sergeant? Why would this sort of prank be set up?”

  The sergeant stopped chewing and swallowed. “I don’t know. Really, at this moment, I don’t care. I am going to start grabbing some pictures and then we are going to collect newspapers and some of these magazines along with a bunch of pictures. I am also going to grab another cream soda, as I love those, and then we are out of here. We go up the street and if some of those houses look open, maybe we go through a few of them. And from now on, we wear gloves for everything.” Caisson took a deep breath. “Tocker, the window was open. If it had been more than a few weeks, or maybe two months, then there would be damage right there. All these papers would be messed up and falling apart. Now grab two of each magazine and two of each newspaper and stuff them in your backpack. Grab an extra retro soda in a glass bottle if you want and pack it away too. I want to leave in ten minutes.”

  The sergeant went to the glass door, pulling out his phone and turning it on. He started looking at angles, trying to figure out what was necessary and relevant. Private Tocker moved over to the magazine racks and pulled out two of each putting them on the counter. He then grabbed the calendar and included that as well.

  He grabbed two of each type of cigarette and chocolate bar, then pulled out the logbook from behind the counter.

  Tocker ran his fingers over the cash register until he figured out what to push and the drawer popped open with a loud DING!

  Cassion almost dropped his phone. “What the hell are you doing, Tocker? Trying to give me a heart attack?”

  “No, Sergeant! I was trying to open the cash register!”

  “Why are you doing that? I mean, the exchange rate is bad for us but we can pay everything by debit, credit, or the bit of cash we have left over, so no need to steal it.”

  “I wasn’t stealing it, Sergeant! There is no debit or credit machine and I can only find this weird little metal tray thing in the door! I wanted to see if they used the same money we do or if we’re in some weird alternate reality!”

  The sergeant stopped and went to stare at the register. It was pure retro. It wasn’t even electronic, just push buttons. No power cords, and no hook up for debit or credit. He knelt down to look inside the counter. No cables. The metal tray that Tocker had mentioned was an old imprint machine. There was only the one and it was big with small slips of paper to go with it.

  He stood up and looked around. There were no security cameras anywhere. There were mirrors up high outside for visibility but not a single camera that he could see.

  The pumps themselves looked in great condition and there was even a container of what looked like absorb-all for leaks or spills just to the side.

  This place was as weird as could be.

  Caisson took another deep breath and tried to relax instead of wishing for real weapons and answers. Then he looked at Tocker. “Empty the register and take every dollar. If you can find some rags, grab all the s
mall change too. I don’t want it clinking around in our bags. We leave it if it fails a jump test.” He paused then frowned.

  “You load that up, Tocker. I’m going to check the backrooms. There should be someplace where they store the extra cash on busy days. Hopefully, it’s not a safe.”

  Tocker started pulling the bills out and squinted at them, then stopped. “Sergeant, are you saying it’s alright to steal this money then?”

  Sergeant Caisson didn’t stop moving as he checked the mechanical room and then opened the storage room door. “You got it, Tocker.”

  He disappeared into the storage room and the sound of boxes being moved around was the only sound that could be heard.

  Private Tocker loaded all the bills into a side pouch on both packs,. then he found a paper bag and a roll of towels that he was able to take the higher value coins. Everything looked normal. He finished packing everything away and was about to ask the sergeant what else he should do when he heard a sound outside.

  At first, it just sounded like the wind. There had been no wind in the whole time that they had been on this patrol. It sounded like the sound was coming closer.

  He moved to the window and opened it, locking it open at the first notch. He kneeled to the side so no one could see him from outside. No breeze came in at all, but he could hear the sound more clearly. It sounded like someone moaning or groaning.

  Tocker’s eyes widened as he realized that there were people here. He stood up and went to the storeroom where Caisson was trying to force open a small two-drawer fling cabinet that looked like it had been secured to the ground.

  “Sergeant! There’s someone outside! I can hear them!”

  Caisson cursed as he scrambled to stop himself dropping the pry bar, then what the private had said registered. “Did you see them?”

  “No, Sergeant, but I could hear someone moaning or groaning! They’re somewhere behind the building. Should I go out and check them out?”

  Caisson just stared at Tocker, “NO. Okay? For all we know, this place is evacuated and that’s a looter. A looter with a GUN. So we wait in here and hide until we can see them and make sure it’s safe. We’re sealed up in here so we should be fine.”