The Service Centre (Zombie Transference Book 1)

by Tom Germann

  Vajjer said, “Wait a minute. What about the gas?”

  Caisson frowned. “Yes, we are going to need gas. Most of the vehicles weren’t full.”

  Wagner nodded. “We now have seven jerry cans with fuel. That hopefully fills up the tanks, but maybe not, and then do we have extra?” He looked around. “Steven! We may have a fuel problem.”

  Steven came over, frowning. “What do you mean ‘problem’?”

  Explaining quickly, Wagner said,. “Can you send Sal and one of the privates out to keep pumping? We are going to need every litre we can get and it’s just not accessible.”

  Steven nodded. “But what about wolves or whatever attacked that dog in town?”

  Sergeant Caisson spoke up. “We leave them a crowbar, and there was a baseball bat. As they are working, they keep an eye open. If they see or hear ANYTHING, they come straight back. If they see anyone, they should also come back. I wouldn’t want some pissed off local screaming and attacking me because I’m ‘stealing’ the gas, you know?”

  Sam nodded. “The pump itself is pretty quiet.”

  Steven nodded at the sergeant. “Good idea.” He turned and went looking for Sal.

  Wagner looked around. “Are we ready finally?” Everyone nodded and they took off. Steven came back over, pulled the door shut, and then locked it.

  The group quickly made their way to the road leading to the subdivision. It was more dirt track than road, but it was level and smooth enough for them to use. They moved along it until they came out at the end of the street.

  They moved down the street without talking and with everyone trying to look everywhere at once. They were at the first car almost immediately. It was a bright red and had fins. Caisson kept the shotgun up while everyone else moved around the vehicle. The front doors squeaked when they opened and everyone flinched. The other five gathered around it and made sure that they had a good grip on the car. Jimmy took the driver side and made sure that, after some fiddling, the vehicle was in neutral and the parking brake was off.

  Then with a quiet ‘push!’ they all started pushing the car forward. It rolled smoothly and in no time they were moving quickly down the road. They bounced over the low curb and were on the dirt track.

  The only sounds were the springs squeaking and everyone grunting as they struggled to keep the speed up.

  After the vehicle was up the relatively flat dirt track, crossing the parking lot and then circling wide around the service centre was easy. When they had the vehicle at the front of the service centre, they struggled to stop it. Then they backed it up to the truck bay with a lot of grunting and sweating. When the vehicle was out front and lined up, they stopped and carefully closed the vehicle doors. They moved into the shade and rested for a minute before heading back for the next one.

  .

  The first vehicle turned out to be the easiest because it faced the right way. After that, the other three were all facing away and needed to be backed into drives and then turned.

  Another car, a station wagon with inlaid wood side panels, and finally the large pickup truck.

  The pickup truck was the hardest as the tires were low on air and it just didn’t want to move. But after much grunting and swearing, they were able to get it down the street, up the dirt track, and to the service centre.

  They rested for a minute before unlocking and opening the rollup doors to push the vehicles in. After the last one was in, they closed all three doors and went inside to recover.

  They headed straight to the fridge at the back and grabbed cold drinks

  Working On The Vehicles

  Wagner looked around before. walking over to Steven and calling everyone over. . “Look, we have the vehicles here now. We have a few guys who can work on the vehicles and make sure that they are good to go. That’s going to take a few hours of your time and tie up Jimmy, Sal, Private Weibe, and Corporal Vajjer, who can help out. The vehicles can also be loaded up.”

  Richard nodded. “Then we can get out of here. We should have the vehicles loaded in fifteen minutes and after they have their oil topped up or whatever, we can go. We could be out of here before dark and be wherever everyone went.”

  Wagner looked at Richard expressionlessly. He spoke slowly and clearly. “We are NOT leaving here until we find out more about what is going on. We are also not heading off in half an hour after we top up oil, gas and pack. We have ten jerry cans of fuel now. Those get emptied into the tanks now and then refilled. Just refilling those jerry cans is going to take something like four hours. By that time, it is getting dark. We are not driving out in the dark.

  . “I am going to head back into the subdivision and enter some of the houses. Maybe find out more. Heck, maybe this is just a movie setup for an abandoned town. I want to see if the houses are real or it’s all just staged up. I’ll take Corporal Vajjer, Private Tocker because he knows the area, and who else? Richard, how are you with going?”

  Richard shook his head angrily. “I’m staying right here so I’m ready to go when the cars are ready.”

  Wagner looked at Richard and then dismissed him. He looked around. “Anyone else want to go for a walk into ghost town USA?”

  Susie stood up. “I’d love to go and get out of here for a bit. I got changed into jeans that I had here and I am ready to see the town!”

  He nodded. “You’re in. Make sure you have sunglasses and a hat. Grab an empty bag. We leave in five.”

  She nodded and went to the back, coming back with an old baseball cap and an empty backpack.

  She looked at the group ready to head out and. pursed her lips. “If we find out that this is a real town and not a setup, if we find lots of stuff we could use, how are we bringing it back? Food and some other stuff will be heavy.”

  “Let’s walk and talk, okay? I want to start making some headway.”

  They headed out, followed by Sal and Andries heading for the pump.

  As soon as the three soldiers were out the door, they moved into a circular formation with Susie in the middle. They were constantly checking the area out and almost immediately Susie was freaking out. “Guys, is there something you aren’t telling me? Like, you are holding onto weapons and look like you expect us to be attacked any second. Why is Vajjer, or Chris or whatever, carrying a fire extinguisher?”

  The three relaxed a bit and stopped walking, almost causing Susie to walk into Wagner.

  Vajjer looked at her. “Well, what if there’s a fire?”

  Susie just looked at him. “Right…”

  He sighed. “Look, it’s not too big but it’s heavy enough that I can knock someone down or smash their head in if I have to, you know?”

  Wagner quickly interrupted. “It’s just training and everyone is on edge, right? We have lots of weird stuff going on, so we fall back on what we know. We’ll relax, but if we talk we keep it quiet, okay?”

  Susie nodded. “Okay, I just want to know what the plan is.”

  He smiled. “That’s easy. We go for a walk, break into a few houses and if we need to, we loot them. If we find lots of something heavy that we need then we stack it all up in front of one house and then drive by in the morning and pick it up. No need to lug it around if we have vehicles. Okay?”

  Susie nodded again and they slowly started walking toward the dirt track.

  They walked along in silence, keeping an eye out. It was eerie. There was no breeze and no sounds at all. No dogs barking, not even the ever-present humming of insects in summer.

  The four came to the end of the street and carefully started moving along one side of the street, close up to the houses.

  After passing the first three, they came to the first that was damaged. They moved up to the door, which was hanging open, and stopped. Wagner quietly said, “I’ll go first. You three stay here and keep an eye out. Corporal Vajjer, you follow after I’m in. We call you two in
when we are comfy. Keep your eyes open.”

  Taking a deep breath and readying the crowbar, the warrant officer stepped in. It was dark inside, but the curtains were open so there was enough light to see.

  The door opened into a small sort of hall with a half-wall that looked into a living room. There was a small closet on the opposite wall that was closed. From his position looking in, he couldn’t see anyone. He pressed his foot against the bottom of the door as it seemed to want to swing shut.

  He reached over and opened the closet door. Some light jackets and a hat along with shoes and boots, both men’s and women’s.

  He closed the door and kept looking. Straight ahead was a doorway into a kitchen. When he looked to his right, he could see what looked like part of a table so that must be the dining room. Up ahead just to the left was another open hall that would lead to bedrooms and bathrooms.

  A nice, standard 1950s home layout. If there was a door in the kitchen, it would lead to the basement, if there weren’t storm doors outside.

  He stepped inside and let his eyes adjust to the lack of bright glare. He could see that the living room had carpet. It looked like a brown shag that had seen better days. He moved forward and looked down the hall to the left. The doors were closed so he could worry about those later. Sticking his head into the kitchen, no one was hiding there and the back sliding doors were closed and locked with a bar. He moved into the living room. There was a large couch with floral fabric and matching recliner. The coffee table was a large, solid piece of wood with small coasters stacked to the side. There was no light in the ceiling but there were three standing lights around the room.

  There was a large, boxy television in the far corner, but it looked ancient. The rabbit ears on top were set at an angle.

  Coming around the corner, he looked at the dining room table with sideboard. Six chairs around the oval table looked about right. There was a large cuckoo clock hanging at the back and it had run down. The big window gave a bit more light and he looked at the walls more carefully.

  They were covered with wallpaper. He moved closer and squinted, seeing it was a light pink floral wallpaper. He had never seen anything so hideous. The sideboard held a large coffee percolator. There was a door into the kitchen, which he stepped up to and looked through.

  The kitchen was pink with a tiled floor. The stove and fridge fit right in with the retro look with rounded corners and chrome on the outside. They were pink as well.

  He moved fully into the kitchen. There was a small table to the side with two chairs and a small clock hanging on the wall above it.

  He stopped and leaned against a wall, breathing calmly. It was an episode out of the twilight zone or something. The kitchen cabinets and countertop were also really dated. Butcher block for countertops?

  There was a drying rack next to the sink with some dishes in it. He stepped out to the hallway and gestured for Susie to come in. He leaned in close and whispered, “That kitchen is too funky for me, I just can’t handle it. Could you please go through the fridge and cupboards?”

  She nodded and headed into the kitchen where she started carefully and quietly opening cupboard doors.

  Everyone was moving around like they were in a cemetery at midnight and didn’t want to wake the dead.

  He waved at the others standing outside to come in while he stood blocking the final unchecked hallway. Vajjer and Tocker moved into the house.

  Vajjer’s only comment was, “Wow, homey. If you like going to gramma’s house.”

  Wagner motioned for Tocker to cover the door while Corporal Vajjer backed him up. He stepped down the hallway. Vajjer stopped him with a touch on his shoulder. The corporal whispered, “All these doors open into the rooms. Just knock on each one and we should know if there are brain-hungry zombies waiting for us.”

  Wagner walked to the first door and knocked several times and waited. Silence. He went to the next one and the same, and so on until he had knocked on all five doors.

  He carefully opened the door he was standing in front of at the end of the hall. It was a linen closet and smelled musty. He tried the next door. It was a small bedroom that had been set up for sewing with an old style machine. The next door was a small bedroom with several stuffed animals on the bed. The next one was a tidy little bathroom in pink that made him shudder. The final room faced the front of the house and was what must have been the master bedroom with two separate single beds done up.

  All four rooms smelled musty, as if they had not had anyone in for a long while.

  He looked at the corporal. “Where’s the basement entrance?”

  Vajjer just shrugged. “Wait... It should be in the kitchen.”

  Susie screamed, “Oh shit!” Then there was a gagging noise. All three of the others piled into the doorway trying to get to Susie. They stopped struggling when they caught the smell and saw the open fridge. Susie was backed up to the far wall with a hand over her nose.

  From where they stood they could see the grey and green mold over most of the interior. The smell was bad.

  Private Tocker took a breath and walked to the fridge, closing the door on the sludgy, moldy mess.

  Immediately, the smell lessened but it was still in the kitchen and everyone backed out.

  Susie looked pale. “I hadn’t thought about it. I just opened the door. I guess the old timey people didn’t believe in food handling skills. That fridge can’t be airtight if the mold is that bad. Oh crap!” Her hand flew up to her mouth and she staggered into the living room before throwing up on the couch. When she was done, she was still bent over, holding onto the couch with both hands.

  Tocker went over to her and handed her a not-so-clean rag to wipe her face. “Here you go, miss.”

  “Thank you, Tocker. That smell was bad. I don’t want to even think what the preserves in the basement could smell like… I wouldn’t have opened it till you were there anyway. But you guys feel free to check it out. I’ll keep looking at the cupboards in a second.”

  Tocker looked over at the other two. “I’ll stay with her up here and keep an eye out. I’ll yell if I see or hear anything, sir.”

  The two others looked at each other and stepped into the kitchen. The smell was still bad, but they ignored it. The basement door was narrow and Wagner had assumed it was a pantry.

  He put his weight against it and knocked on the door several times. There was no answer. He reached into a pocket, pulled out a flashlight, and turned it on before. opening the door and shining the light downstairs. From where they stood, the basement looked unfinished with bare concrete walls. He leaned forward, shining his light around and trying to see further into the murky basement, without luck.

  He walked down the stairs one at a time, holding onto the rickety railing. At the bottom, he turned and saw that the entire basement was one gigantic, unfinished room. There was a work table set up on the far wall with fishing gear surrounding it, a large furnace, a washer, several drying lines hanging from the joists, and a lot of cardboard boxes all over the floor. He saw several shelves against another wall and went to check them out. Behind him, Vajjer came down with his flashlight on and looked around.

  The shelves held preserves of all sorts stacked on every shelf.

  Vajjer came up and checked them out. “Should we grab some?”

  “No, I don’t think so,” Wagner said. “We have tons of food back at the service centre.”

  Vajjer nodded. “But we don’t have much in the way of long term fruit or vegetables. This is jams, fruits, and even some vegetables. Maybe grab a box and leave it by the door?”

  The warrant officer stood motionless for a second. “You’re right. It’ll give us something different to eat. Let’s grab two boxes and fill them with fruit stuff.”

  “There are boxes over here.” Corporal Vajjer tapped several of them, pulling the two best from the pile. “I just
hope the person who did the canning knew what they were doing. Green or grey slime is not my preference.”

  They quickly filled two boxes and struggled with them up the stairs.

  Tocker met them at the top of the stairs and helped move the heavy boxes to near the front door.

  After they had put them down, all four gathered in the kitchen. The men stared at the items and clothing that Susie had laid out on the kitchen table.

  “Susie, was now the time to go shopping? I mean, I know we grabbed the jars and cans of preserves, but, um…”

  Susie glared at Vajjer. “Men, sometimes don’t know to keep their eyes open. Take another careful look at what you see.”

  The men stared at the clothing for a second. Wagner looked up. “Private Tocker, I want you to stay by the front door and keep an eye out. Everything else is secure so that’s the only access point and I want a warning before people come charging in on us.”

  Tocker nodded, turning and walking quickly to the front door where he looked up and down the street while, staying just inside the house.

  Wagner looked at Susie. “Okay, Susie, I don’t get it. She’s a cosplayer with bad taste in clothes and likes the retro look.” He looked at Vajjer. “Did you see anything that I missed?”

  Vajjer shook his head. “You like going through people’s stuff and taking gross looking underwear?” Susie glared at him again. Wagner sighed and gestured for her to continue.

  Whatever it was, Susie was furious.

  She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “I looked through her room and I would say that she is probably sixteen or so. I THINK that she is staying with her grandparents, ‘cause I looked at their closets and everything about this place screams retirement. Then it gets weird.” Susie held up a bra and panties. “Look at the underwear. It’s not something that a modern woman would be wearing. It’s hideous and this is not nineteen fifty conservative land. I went through ALL her underwear and it’s all the same. I was raised by my grandmother and she was a fifties nut that lived for the good old days. She wore stuff like this and she considered it risqué.”