Dead Autumn: Operation Z, #2.5

By G.D. Szepanski

Those who trusted in the government's promised oasis from the zombie apocalypse found only death and want. Can Anna find hope in a hopeless world?

 

In this post-apocalyptic world, Anna, a twelve-year-old orphan, has lost everything she once knew. She struggles to stay alive amidst a landscape overrun by zombies and other survivors, where death and destruction are the norm. Every choice Anna makes could be the difference between survival and succumbing to the surrounding dangers.

 

Dead Autumn is a zombie story written in the Operation Z world, continuing the story of the apocalypse after Dead Summer. 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 Autumn to continue the story of the apocalypse today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Greg Szepanski
• Release date: May 14, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224506156

Book preview

Dead Autumn

Operation Z Seasons - Book #2

G.D. Szepanski

Contents

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1.Anna

2.Tommy

3.Perez

4.Hank

5.Tiffany Davis

6.Janice

7.The Pastor

8.Anna

9.Perez

10.Tommy

11.Anna

12.Hank

13.Becky

14.Anna

15.Tommy

16.Perez

17.Anna

18.Tommy

19.Anna

20.Perez

21.Becky

22.Janice

23.Tommy

24.Perez

25.Anna

26.Tommy

27.Janice

28.Anna

29.Perez

30.Anna

31.Perez

32.Anna

Before You Go

Copyright

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Chapter one

Anna

Anna stretched, trying to exercise the stiffness from her body. A twelve-year-old shouldn’t suffer from so many aches and pains. She couldn’t remember the last time she slept in a bed. Instead, she slept on a cracked concrete shelf in a seven by seven prison cell.

A one piece toilet and sink unit occupied one corner of her room. She thanked God the water still flowed through both. Dehydration would be a terrible way to die.

Light shone through a small barred window at the top of the wall. The dirty broken glass cast strange shadows on the opposite wall. Her view outside consisted only of the sky.

Food appeared through a small opening at the bottom of the door at irregular intervals. The solid steel door had the small opening at the bottom, along with a tight mesh window at the very top. Murky light shone through these openings twenty-four hours a day. Cries of agony were the only sounds.

She awoke in this dank prison cell after falling asleep one night in a dirty cabin with three others. Since her arrival, she hadn’t seen Perez or Tamar. Hank, some guy whom they saved, might be the one responsible for this mess. For all she knew, the other three occupied neighboring cells.

Anna wondered if this prison was within the walls of the Casino. Who else would have a prison?

A scrapping behind the door drew her attention as a worn metal tray slid through the opening on the floor. It held a stale piece of bread with some dry peanut butter spread on it, a half dozen stale chips, and an apple juice box with an expiration date from months earlier. All still edible, but not a gourmet meal.

Hello. Who’s there? Where am I? Please let me out?

Anna called out like she did every time food appeared. No one answered her questions. Not what she hoped for, but what she expected.

As she ate the tasteless, meager portion of food, she pushed the tears down deep. One day, she’d get the chance to fight or run. So she'd eat what she could to maintain her strength.

Last time someone had locked her up, Anna escaped by kicking a boy in the balls and running away. She returned the favor by locking him in her cell. That jail sentence had lasted less than a day. She had lost track of the time trapped inside this hell. Had days, weeks, months, or years passed? Anna had no clue.

A door slammed and several feet stomped down the hallway outside her cell. Each time this had happened, a chill ran down her spine. Something bad always followed their appearance. Anna cowered in the far corner of her cell, hoping her turn hadn’t come.

The king wants two adult men and women for tonight’s entertainment. What’s in this cell?

It’s a little girl.

Shit, kids die way too fast. Where’s the fun in that?

A hearty chorus of male laughter echoed down the hallway. The door next to Anna’s cell creaked opened.

How’s this one?

A little fat. But what the hell?

The scream was female, and Anna listened as they repeated the process three more times. Voices begged for mercy, and the men responded with laughter. Cries for leniency became exclamations of pain.

As the heavy footfalls retreated, dragging the prisoners behind them, a tear slid down her cheek. Anna never knew what happened to those claimed by the guards, because nobody ever returned. A one-way trip.

Her stomach churned, and she swallowed her meager portion of food a second time as it tried to exit her body. Would she remain a prisoner until she became an adult, or would the king kill the kids, too? Neither scenario meant a happy future for her. Did prisoners on death row feel this helpless? At least they committed a crime. Her only crime had been surviving.

Tears flowed, and Anna couldn’t stop them. One day Anna had been an honor student, cross-country athlete, and had a loving mother. Then the graves opened, and the dead rose to hunt the living. Instead of humanity coming together to defeat a common foe, men became more wicked than the flesh-eating monsters.

Now she rotted in this cold, damp cell, waiting for an unknown death to end her story. She’d sell her soul for one more day of her old life. Souls had become worthless in this evil world, because the dead had no need for them.

Anna sat on her hard bed and bawled while darkness enveloped her. Exhaustion overcame her, and she fell into a deep sleep.

Her dream of hopelessness played like a movie on the big screen. The tall man with the dark robe and burning eyes turned the remaining humans and zombies into his servants of death. They spread out across the world, consuming everything and everyone in their path. Either you worshiped the demon, or you perished. She stood on the hill and watch them devour the world as they advanced toward her.

At this point of the dream, she normally screamed and woke covered with sweat and a pounding heart. Anna willed herself to wake before the mob of death reached her, and tore her into pieces. But she remained stuck in this horrid world with no escape. If she died here, would she die in real life? Wake up, Anna.

The demon drew closer. When Anna thought all hope was gone, she sensed a presence on her other side. She turned and saw a boy, about the same age as her. His eyes and smile radiated warmth. A bow with a flaming arrow appeared, and he handed it to her, before a second appeared in his hands.

Aim for Abaddon’s heart. We can only defeat him if we fight together.

Anna hadn't shot an arrow before, but this wouldn’t stop dream world Anna. The arrows flew toward the demon, and she saw the fear appear on Abaddon’s face. Both arrows flew true, about to strike their target.

Then she leaped onto her feet, wide awake. She stood in the confined space, gasping for air, wondering who the boy was, and what the dream meant.

Chapter two

Tommy

Tommy lost most of his baby fat and had added muscle to his frame because of Ronda’s training regimen. She had saved his life. Ronda found him unconscious and naked in a clearing the day he escaped the Amazonian demon worshippers and lost Tiffany to jock boy. Tiffany had saved him first, so he owed both women everything.

This debt brought him to the gates of the kingdom, where he hoped not to die. The same Ronda the Relentless, who won the woman’s ultimate fighting championship, wanted to find her fiancé, Miguel Perez. They lost contact at the start of the apocalypse. She claimed to still have a connection to him, knowing he remained among the living. Tommy faced reality, figuring he had died. Like everyone else.

Tom, do you think he’s here?

How would I know? There are at least a hundred armed people inside the fence, and I don’t even know what he looks like. I don’t think they like to let in strangers to explore their camp.

Ronda gave him her look, which told him how much of a simpleton she thought he was. Sure, Ronda trained his body and taught him how to fight, and he was grateful. But they couldn’t waltz into a camp of armed men looking for a missing person. They’d end up dead, or even worse. And Tommy wanted to remain among the living. He lacked both the hero or martyr gene to accept a suicide mission.

If we wait here and watch the gate, then maybe we’ll see him. Do you have a better idea?

He didn’t have a better plan or any other options to survive. Ronda’s punches felt like being hit by a heavy duty truck, so he wouldn’t tell her how stupid her plan was. Tommy learned this early in their relationship and vowed to never anger her again. But did he want to die attempting Ronda’s fool’s errand? Ronda possessed an impressive physique, but even she lost two matches during her thirty-one fight championship career. She wasn’t immortal or a superhero.

Do you think this is wise…

Quiet, Tom. I might miss Miguel because of your whining.

Ouch. Her retort hurt. It hurt less than a punch in the face, so he shut his mouth before she threw one. He remembered watching a match where she beat the crap out of a larger opponent because Ronda thought she disrespected her in the ring. Three massive security guards had to pull her off the fallen opponent, and the big mouthed woman never fought again because of the injuries. Ronda faced a six-month suspension after taking out her anger on the other woman.

Tom, look.

Ronda pointed to a high school football stadium with a ten foot tall chain-link fence surrounding it. The crowd roared as a group of men dragged four people into one corner of the field. Two men and two women faced the tips of eight spears, while an emcee spoke to the cheering crowd. Tommy couldn’t tell what the man said over the blood lust radiating from the crowd.

As the man finished his spiel, guards stepped past the spears and ripped the clothing off the prisoners. Cheers erupted anew from the crowd. Tommy felt their pain standing naked in front of a screaming crowd while awaiting their death. None of the four displayed any athleticism, so Tommy knew their doom wouldn’t take long. He wanted to turn away, knowing the spectacle wouldn’t be pretty.

The spears drove the four victims to the thirty yard line, as a gate opened in the far end zone disgorging a dozen zombies. Men with extended cattle prods drove the monsters onto the field. As the spears retreated, they left the four unarmed naked people behind to face the zombies. Their soft, doughy flesh exposed to the snapping teeth of the unrelenting cannibals racing toward them.

One man turned to run away from the monsters. An arrow struck him in the thigh, and he fell face first on the field after a half-dozen steps. The movement invigorated the zombies as they charged their prey like a defensive blitz.

Two zombies tackled a heavyset woman who stood frozen, screaming in terror. They ripped mouthfuls of flesh before freeing her entrails with their clawed