Free ZOMBIE'S DOOM? "Chronicles of Jack Doom" by Will Lemen

right," Jason concluded.
    "I've noticed that the lack of eaters in a given area usually means that there's a pack of feral dogs nearby, or worse," I informed him as I slowly made my way toward the front of the shop.
    "Feral dogs? That doesn't sound good," Jason declared, as he too moved in the direction of the front door.
    As I approached the door, I could see two mutts running south down the street, then a moment later another three dogs passed by the doorway on the other side of the street, all heading south.
    "Stay still," I order Jason. "They haven't seen us yet."
    Being fortunate enough not to have crossed paths with any of the feral dog population as of yet, Jason should have done as I ordered and froze in his tracks.
    However, never having seen a pack of the roaming curs, and not realizing the danger that these vicious mongrels posed, he continued to walk forward to my position.
    Strike two!
    "Freeze you dumb-ass, you'll get us both killed," I barked in my best drill instructor whisper as I set my M-4 to full auto.
    But it was too late, a straggler that had allowed the main pack to advance a couple of blocks ahead of it, caught a glimpse of Jason's movement as it passed the doorway.
    The malicious K-9 abruptly skidded to a halt, and turned its full attention to the doorway of the gun shop. Then, in a split second, it bolted toward Jason and leaped into the air with the intention of landing on my new found partner's face.
    Standing only a few feet from Jason and the malevolent attacking dog, I leveled my suppressed M-4 at the lunging crossbreed and pulled the trigger.
    At between 600 to 800 rounds per minute, my rifle spit out a fusillade of full metal-jacketed projectiles of the 5.56 variety into the attacking animal in mid-flight.
    The effect of such a myriad of bullets hitting the beast almost simultaneously was to slam the vile critter against the doorjamb just inches from Jason's face, killing it instantly.
    Apparently, Jason still hadn't learned his lesson, the dog I had just killed had barely hit the ground when Jason sprang out the front door of the gun shop to see where the other dogs had gone.
    Strike three!
    "Look, I think they're after that group of dead!" he shouted, pointing at a small clutch of zombies in the distance.
    "Better them than us," I whispered back to him, as I pulled him back inside the shop by the collar of his shirt. "I've never seen any live dogs and eaters together, but in this crazy world who knows, there's a first time for everything I guess."
    With three strikes under his belt, at this point, I realized that Jason was a little too high strung to be traveling with me. He didn't seem to be able to follow simple instructions (like stop moving), and immediately after almost being ripped apart by a feral dog, he jumped out into the open and started shouting.
    Fortunately for us, the main pack of dogs were busy a few blocks away running around doing whatever it is that feral dogs do when they're not attacking me , and didn't hear him yelling at the top of his lungs.
    It was only a matter of time before his antics would get him killed, and I didn't want to be his conjoined twin when it happened.
    I felt that in the light of what had just taken place, I had only two options to choose from.
    Option number one (my preferred option), I could ask Jason nicely for the keys to his truck, and then send him on his way. I would take his truck and follow the Sarge and Beth's trail into Oklahoma, and Jason could continue his journey south on foot until he found himself another vehicle, or was torn apart by zombies, feral dogs, or raptors, whichever came first.
    Option number two (not my preferred option, but still on the table), I could ask Jason nicely for the keys to his truck, and if he refused, I would kill him. and leave his carcass to be torn apart by the zombies, feral dogs, or the raptors, whichever came first. Then I would take his truck and continue to follow the Sarge and Beth's trail into