Dead Summer: Operation Z

By G.D. Szepanski

The message on the radio promised salvation from the zombie apocalypse. Would they find safety after the siren sounds?

 

Anna and her mother hid inside their home while flesh eating monsters roamed outside. Their food and water stores reached their end. They sat with no power, no weapons, and no hope. Anna fiddled with an old battery powered radio, but the same message played endlessly on every frequency. A message of deliverance from their death sentence. Had salvation arrived or a fate worse than the zombies?

 

Dead Summer is a zombie story written in the Operation Z world at the beginning of the apocalypse. If you liked the Walking Dead, or other fast-paced zombie apocalypse stories, then you'll love G.D. Szepanski's latest story.

 

Buy Dead Summer to experience the start of the apocalypse today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Greg Szepanski
• Release date: Dec 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215906118

Book preview

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Dead Summer

Operation Z

G.D. Szepanski

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Other Books by G. D. Szepanski

Novels

Uprising – Operation Z – Book One

Retribution – Operation Z – Book Two

Shattered – Operation Z – Book Three

Dead Summer – Operation Z Seasons – Book One

Serial Stories

Dead Summer (A Post Apocalyptic Zombie Story)

Dead Autumn (A Post Apocalyptic Zombie Story)

No Power, No Rules, No Mercy (A Post Apocalyptic EMP Story)

Novelles

Everyone Dies, A Post Apocalyptic Zombie Story in the Operation Z Series

Short Stories

Zombie Love Story and Fear

Copyright © 2022, 2023 G. D. Szepanski

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permission requests, contact [e-mail].

The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living, deceased, or living dead), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.

First edition Paperback 2023

Contents

1. Ruth

2. Perez

3. Danny and Kate

4. Ruth

5. Perez

6. Nick

7. Kate

8. Ruth

9. Jeremy

10. Nick

11. Ruth

12. Anna

13. Jeremy

14. Perez

15. Anna

16. Nick

17. Tamar

18. Nick

19. Shirley

20. Anna

21. Shirley

22. Tamar

23. Tommy

24. Shirley

25. Anna

26. Perez

27. Tamar

28. Shirley

29. David

30. Tommy

31. Shirley

32. Tommy

33. Anna

34. Tommy

35. Perez

36. Tommy

37. Shirley

Before You Go

Books by G.D. Szepanski

Chapter one

Ruth

W hen the siren sounds, proceed in an orderly fashion to your local evacuation assembly point. For your safety, do not bring weapons. The military working with local law enforcement will secure the area. Do not bring food. The government will provide for you in their sanctuary camps. Your government has the terrorist threat isolated and neutralized. This mandatory evacuation is for your safety, while agents round up the remaining enemy combatants. The sanctuary camps will be your temporary oasis during the last phase of Operation Z.

Ruth heard this same message as it played non-stop. The battery powered radio with the broken cassette and half an antenna played nothing else since the power blinked off two weeks ago. Logic told her the message was total BS, but what else could she do besides trust it? Anna, her twelve-year-old daughter, relied on Ruth, and their supply of food and water disappeared quickly because of the summer heat. If only Ruth took the firearms training class her girlfriend goaded her about, then she would be able to protect them from the zombies without anyone’s help.

Even though the radio called them terrorists, everyone still living and breathing knew they were bloodthirsty zombies. Terrorists attacked the country on 9/11 and everyone called them fanatical killers, but they caused less damage to America than these flesh eating monsters. These things resembled people, but they lacked all humanity. They moved with unrelenting speed and determination once they discovered a living being. Ruth watched them swarm her neighbors, one after another. The initial attack turned their prey into a shredded and bloody mess, but then the damaged bodies rose to their feet and joined their attackers as they ran after others. It happened to everyone unlucky (or stupid) enough to wander around outside.

Then, without warning, the siren shrieked.

Anna, grab your backpack. We need to run.

Ruth insisted they both pack a bug out bag when the message first played on the radio. The bags contained a couple of changes of clothing, a box of protein bars, a few pieces each of beef jerky, some water, a hammer, and a hunting knife. She didn’t know where the last two items originally came from, but they were the only weapons she had in their home. Yes, part of her still thought the message was pure bull shit, but if there was any hope left, they needed to run toward it rather than away from it. Ruth owed Anna that much since she couldn’t protect her.

They grabbed their bags and raced out the front door. As a single mother, Ruth had been proud when she purchased this house, but deep down, she knew this would be the last time she saw it. She hoped they ran toward some kind of sanctuary, but either way, their survival lay somewhere else. Dwindling supplies of food and water, along with the increase in zombie sightings, required leaving their old neighborhood behind.

The predetermined evacuation assembly point for their neighborhood sat only a mile from their home. Ruth remained in decent shape by running in 5K fun runs, so she didn’t worry about covering a mile, even while wearing her bulky backpack. Anna competed on her middle school's cross-country team so the mile run would be a walk in the park for her, too. The number of survivors pouring out of their homes and racing down the street after them surprised Ruth. She didn’t think anyone living remained hidden inside their homes because the neighborhood grew quiet and had felt empty for weeks. They must have followed the officials’ cautions to stay home and locked inside their homes. Media pundits preached this message constantly when this mess first started. Even if they falsely blamed the outbreak on a novel flu bug. True, the flu killed people every year, but it never resurrected anyone from the dead.

Four large military transport trucks sat in the assembly area near the playground. All had eight rear wheels with a large open box on the back lined with bench seats on either side. Three painted in the traditional green camouflage colors while the fourth sported a tan desert camouflage paint job. A group of uniformed soldiers carrying automatic weapons herded together two lines of civilians. They had already loaded a mix of survivors and soldiers into the back of each truck.

You must submit to a personal inspection before entering the evacuation vehicle. No one with visible bites, scratches, or a fever will be allowed to ride with us to the sanctuary camp. An electronically amplified voice squealed through a bullhorn.

Ruth and Anna joined the back of the shorter line. A calloused hand clamped down on Ruth’s arm, just above her elbow, and dragged her off to the side. His uniform name tag read Miles. This way, sweetheart, for your special ride, he said. The smirk on his face caused butterflies to churn in Ruth’s stomach.

She prepared to protest the man’s diversion, but then she saw another uniformed man pulling Anna along behind them. The two soldiers dragged them off to the side of the desert camouflaged truck, out of view from the people standing in the two long lines.

Ok, time for an inspection. Take the pack off and stand with your hands up. Miles said.

Why? What are you looking for? What do you want? Ruth said.

My, you have a lot of questions. Look, we need to make sure you aren’t infected. We need to check for a fever, bites, and concealed weapons. The second uniformed man said. His uniform name tag read Rogers and a smirk shone on his face.

Ruth saw no option since they needed the ride to safety, so she complied with the request. These men carried automatic weapons, and they promised to watch over and protect them from the zombies. Miles started at her ankles and slowly felt his way up her body. He spent way too much time groping both her crotch and ass. Ruth reminded herself that he had a gun, and she didn’t. She had to accept his abuse if it meant safety for Anna. When Miles reached her waist, he grabbed hold of her shirt and pulled it up over her head. The quick movement caught her off guard, and she stood exposed in front of this strange man. On instinct, Ruth slapped Miles across his face. He backhanded her, knocking her to the ground. Ruth felt her cheek swell, and she knew an ugly purple bruise rose on her skin near her eye. Her ex-husband dealt with her the same way.

Leaning over, he whispered loud enough for only her to hear, Listen sweetheart, if you want to live, you’ll cooperate. If you don’t, I’ll gun both of you down right here and say you were infected. It’s your choice. What will it be?

Again, she saw no way out, so Ruth gave in to his handsy inspection. If she endured his groping now, she’d find an opportunity to escape the abuse later once they reached the camp. Surely, someone there would be in charge and would assure order over these wild men. Miles moved around behind her, sticking his crotch into her ass while he felt her up a second time. When he finished, he said, All good, Perez. Get these two on the truck.

Ruth hastily pulled her shirt back on while noticing Anna doing the same. Anger burned in her heart, and she swore she would get her revenge on these pigs. Abusing her was one thing, but Anna was still a child.

A man dressed in a desert camouflage uniform, matching the truck’s paint job, reached down from inside the bed and helped both of them into the back of the truck. His uniform name tag read Perez. He had a solid build, but not overly muscular like he hadn’t spent all of his days in a gym. What struck Ruth the most about him was the look of danger in his dark eyes. His eyes were as cold as a winter's day, showing no feelings of mirth. They looked as if pain and death had been his only friend for years.

Bang! A single shot rang out at the same time someone yelled, Bite! Ruth turned to see a man’s body on the ground laying in a growing puddle of murky blood.

More screams followed the first, and then the guns roared. The zombies finally followed the racket to the all they could eat human buffet.

Ruth looked out over the growing crowd and saw the first group of zombies chasing down the slowest of the survivors, who still scurried toward the trucks. The fight between the humans and zombies always went the same way. First, a tackle a professional linebacker would be proud of. Then a quick struggle which ended up with the teeth of the zombie ripping the unprotected flesh from the human’s body. Usually, the chunk of flesh came from the soft skin of the neck. Last step came after a quick bleed out. The victim would then rise to their feet and become the hunter, looking for another living human being to prey on. The circle of life, or death in this case.

The soldiers still standing on the ground behind the trucks didn’t take long to respond to the oncoming threat. They opened fire on both the remaining survivors, still waiting for a ride and the oncoming zombie horde. Truck engines roared to life, puking black smoke from their stacks.

In the confusion and chaos, Ruth forgot about Perez being in the back of the truck along with them. He took the opportunity during the chaos to act himself. Lowering his rifle, he put a bullet first through Rodger's head and then a second through Miles. Bang, bang, a quick one-two. He turned and banged on the roof of the truck and yelled, Go, go!

The truck lurched and then they raced away from the battlefield, and the wreckage left behind. Ruth, Anna, Perez, along with ten other women and girls, were off to the safety of the government sanctioned sanctuary camp.

Chapter two

Perez

Perez always felt the military prescribed to the notion of hurry up and wait, however, the last six weeks had been a whirlwind of activity for him and his men. A whirlwind he wished to forget.

His unit had been deployed overseas to provide security at a top secret airbase. Empty airplanes landed continuously for two weeks, and crews loaded personnel and equipment into each before they departed for places unknown. While providing guard duty, he heard rumors of violent uprisings and rioting within the civilian population outside the walls of their base. Then the rumors started about the same violence happening back home in the states. Riots turning city streets into battlegrounds.

Next thing Perez knew, the airfield emptied, and his unit flew back to the states in the last plane out. He hoped to spend time with his family during the upcoming Fourth of July holiday, but it wasn’t to be. They received new orders once they deplaned at the US airbase. These commands confused him because federal law prohibited the US Military from acting as a domestic police force anywhere on American soil.

Sergeant Perez knew to not question the wisdom of his superiors, but it became hard not to start now. Instead of getting time with his parents and girlfriend, he found his unit stationed outside of a major US city and ordered to shoot anyone and anything who tried to cross the bridge. His unit provided cover fire while the Army Corps of Engineers set explosives to destroy the bridge. This last route provided the only way into or out of the city.

Violent riots consumed the city and this solution to stop the fighting came right from the Commander and Chief himself. Something inside of Perez died as he fired into a crowd of unarmed civilians who tried to make their way across the bridge and escape the violence in the city. Of course, they were all too late to escape because the bridge collapsed when the engineers detonated the well-placed explosives. The former residents visited a watery grave or became stranded with the monsters in the city.

The chain of command forced Sergeant Perez and his men to remain in place as a silent witness while the Air Force dropped incendiary bombs across the city. Screams, moans, and the smell of burning flesh were things Perez would never forget. They would haunt his nightmares, both waking and sleeping, for the rest of his life. Soldiers abandoned their posts and went AWOL after the bombs rained down on the remaining civilians. Their only crime being left behind because they didn’t run before the bridge fell. The Sergeant had nowhere left to run, because he couldn’t face his girlfriend or parents after murdering those people. So he stayed put until his next set of commands came down.

When the orders finally arrived, Perez’s unit had shrunk to a fraction of its original size. This new decree sent them south to regroup with other units and start a rescue mission. Their best attempts to contain this violent outbreak hadn’t been good enough, so the plague spread throughout the country. The government set up sanctuary camps and the remaining military personnel, along with any surviving law enforcement agencies, would rescue and protect the surviving civilians. Strange rumors floated around saying this was the start of the zombie apocalypse, and humanity’s time ended. Perez didn’t know what to believe, since it all sounded like a bad television show, but he knew how to follow orders.

When they reached the rendezvous point, Perez discovered he was the ranking survivor from his unit. With no officers remaining, the survivors became part of another partial unit. Sergeant First Class Rodgers and First Lieutenant Miles became his new commanders.

Right from the start, Perez knew something was off about both men. It might have been the fact that Miles was an anagram for Slime, but something else plagued his mind. He watched the two men talk with other men in his unit, but both avoided Perez. When Perez questioned one of his own privates, the man said Miles and Rodgers formed a plan to survive on the outside because the sanctuary camps had become a death trap. Anyone who made it to one would be royally screwed. The private didn’t know all the details, but it involved the acquisition of supplies, weapons, personnel, and women at a stronghold the two men knew about. A secure compound previously owned by a local gangster who died before the start of the apocalypse. They had already moved men and supplies in and they would kidnap women who pleased them and their men during the so-called rescue missions they undertook.

The next morning, they set out on their first mission. Perez rode in the back of his own desert camouflaged troop carrier truck, along with Miles and Rodgers. Private Holloway (who served with Perez and revealed the plan to him) drove while Private Drake (someone he didn’t know) rode shotgun.

Rodgers and I will get out of the truck to inspect the survivors. Perez, you stay in the back of the truck to help them in. Keep your eyes open for any incoming threats. You see anything out of line shout and then shoot it. Got it? Miles said.

Sir, yes sir. It pained Perez to take orders from these two, but he knew nothing else than the military and he had no one else to turn to. The chain of command had been severed beyond these scumbags.

The convoy arrived at the predetermined extraction point with no difficulties. A soldier, from one of the other trucks, set up the portable air-raid siren and then set it off. It howled, signaling the remaining survivors to the trucks. Perez didn’t know what came next for this neighborhood, but he imagined total destruction after watching the bombs fall on the city. The great reset. If they destroyed a major city so willingly, nothing would stop them from leveling this suburban neighborhood.

With the siren screaming, people ran toward the trucks from the surrounding homes on the previously deserted street. Miles and Rodgers strolled out to the front of the incoming crowd to grab the females they liked best. Any resistance to their actions would end with violence from the two men. They were the ultimate authority in this new wild west. Each man brought the attractive women alongside the truck, exposed them, and then groped each one. Both men laughed at the insults from the women brave enough to say anything. None of the women could stop the men’s humiliation.

Rodgers had a thing for younger girls, and this made Perez sick as Rodgers groped them. Most of the girls he molested were still children. Perez wanted to act to stop this madness, but the timing hadn’t been right. He’d buy his time and make a move when the opportunity came. Perez didn’t know if this bravery was true, or if he told himself this lie to keep his remaining sanity.

The back of the truck filled up and Perez watched the two scumbags zero in on a mother and daughter duo. Both had firm and fit bodies and the girl appeared to be a preteen, which seemed to be exactly Rodger’s type. They pulled the two out of the long line of survivors and brought them around the far side of the truck for their own little touchy-feely party. Both men had been emboldened by this time, and they removed the ladies’ tops for a closer look at their goods.

Perez marveled at the bravery of this woman as she struck Miles across his face. Unfortunately for her, she was outclassed and outweighed, so she went down after Miles struck back. Miles bent down and whispered something Perez couldn’t hear, but the woman allowed Miles to finish his exploration of her body unfettered. The two men finished and allowed them to put their shirts back on. Perez helped them both into