Free Zombie Rules by David Achord Page B

obvious that it had been broken into, as was most businesses, but it seemed like the only thing that interested people were the cars. We made our way back into the shop and broke into the supply room. We found several spare parts for our trucks. “I like your thinking kid. Long term, always think long term. I would not have even thought of spare parts and fan cables. Let’s get some synthetic oil while we’re here.” We stocked up and made our way to a vet clinic for dog supplies. It too had been ransacked, but it looked like whoever broke in was looking for drugs. We found an ample supply of heart worm pills, flea shampoo, and other antibiotics intended for house pets. We also found the kennel in back. We suspected what we’d find, but we looked anyway. The cages contained the carcasses of several pets. Rick swore silently and took a swig of alcohol.
                  There were dead and decaying bodies scattered around. On one street, there would be none, or just a solitary corpse. Turn the corner and there were dozens of decomposing bodies stacked like cordwood. Several houses and buildings had burned to the ground. We were getting accustomed to the chaos and carnage. One house had a fire truck parked in front of it. There were some firemen lying supine. It looked like they had been ravaged. “Stop here!” I shouted excitedly. Rick hit the brakes. “We can use the fire hose, and the truck probably has some good tools on it too.” I explained.
                  Rick looked around. “I don’t see anyone lurking about, but let’s make it quick.” I agreed. We gathered up a couple of fire hoses and the tools that firemen always carried. Rick pointed at one of the dead firemen. They had oxygen gear, but the oxygen was depleted. As he approached, one of the firemen started moving. “Holy shit, they’re zombies!” I walked up and buried my newly acquired fire axe into his head before he could stand up and bite one of us. “Bada boom!” Rick shouted gleefully. I held my finger over my lips. Rick smiled mischievously and pointed at another fireman that was struggling to stand, even though he had a missing leg. I walked over and dispatched him as well. Rick grinned.
                  We gathered up anything we thought we could use, including the empty oxygen tanks. I pointed at the dead firemen. “This turnout gear could come in handy.” Getting the protective helmets off of their heads was pretty easy, but we had to wrestle the corpses to get the jackets and pants off. Both of us dry heaved a couple of times. “I don’t know kid, if we can’t get the smell out of the gear, there’s no way in hell I’ll wear any of it.” I agreed. We threw all of it in the bed of the truck anyway and drove on.
                  Rick started as we drove into the parking lot of a Lowes. “Heads up.” He said as he stopped at the entrance. He nodded toward the front of the store. There were two men standing there looking at us. We had about one hundred feet between us. They did not look very old, maybe early twenties, and they were armed with handguns. They had them stuck in their waistbands like they were street gangsters. We pulled our bandannas down. I stepped out of the truck and waved. They did not wave back. I got back in the truck. “So what do you want to do?” Rick asked.
                  “Drive on. We don’t need any confrontations, we need to survive. We can revisit this store later.” I looked at him seriously. “After all, who is going to take care of all the pussy out there if we’re dead?” He grunted in agreement and made a U-turn out of the parking lot. I looked behind us as we left. The two men ran to a parked car. “They’re going to follow us. I guess we should head back.”
                  Rick glanced over. “Not quite Zach. We’re going back to the liquor store. The big car wreck and all those abandoned cars around it form a