The Zom Diary by Eddie Austin Read Free Book Online Page B

a little misdirection will help me stall for a bit.
         “Does that jukebox work?  I haven’t heard music in years.”
         Silas nods and tells me to keep feeding the same coins through the open money collector at the side.  I walk over and do so dropping the same four quarters through the thing a few times.  I select the whole first half of Dark Side of the Moon, and sit back down.  There is another beer waiting for me.  I take a sip and begin.
         “Well, I don’t remember most of the start of the whole mess.  I was in an accident and when I came to, everybody was gone. I stole a gun and kind of kept a low profile.  I’ve been holed up further west from here and decided to change scenery when my supplies started to run out.
        “Not much else to say.  I ran into a strange zom the other day, you know anything about Chinese soldiers wearing blue helmets?’
         Silas looks confused for a moment, then reaches behind the bar and slaps something down on the counter in front of me.  It is a blue slip of plastic, brochure sized.  I pick it up and examine it while he speaks.
         “Yeah, I thought most people knew about it, but maybe you were holed up someplace remote?  Never mind, I won’t be nosey.  You can read it for yourself, in English on the one side, Spanish and Mandarin on the other.  Evacuation order and offer of assistance from the UN on behalf of the People’s Republic of China.  They claimed to have a safe zone, and as the last surviving member of such-and-such council have taken the authority of the UN to offer aid… blah, blah, blah.
         “They set up some cargo ships on the coast and had lots of troops patrolling the main roads in for a while, until they ran into trouble themselves.  First from citizens who heard rumors that they were taking people to China for re-education at work camps and other bullshit, that was enough for a fair amount of fighting, and then finally the zombies got to ‘em, just like the rest of us.  Haven’t seen any of them for some time.  You never heard about this?
         I shake my head.  “I have kept a pretty low profile if you know what I mean.  I’m impressed with what you guys have here, I wouldn’t mind setting up shop around here somewhere, I make my own soap, maybe I can come up with some trade.”   
         I sit back and stretch my arms above me.  Silas nods his head and looks like he is thinking hard about what I’ve said.  Finally he takes a pull on his beer, his first sip, and says I’ll need to see Bryce.
         “He’d be the mayor if we had one, and he has all the old tax records and maps.  He can point you toward the lots that are abandoned and up for grabs.  He’s always looking for an extra hand around here.  And you’d be our first soap maker.”
         I finish my beer and make ready to leave.  He goes to the cooler and grabs a one gallon growler of his best IPA, and I promise to stop back some time with soap to trade.
         “I’ll give you a fair price for it.  Good luck pal, and don’t be a stranger.”
     
    ⃰     ⃰     ⃰
     
      Crossing the street, I climb the stairs of the old library.  The door is locked, so I rap lightly on the glass; nobody home.
         I really don’t want to spend the night, and it is already close to two o’clock.   If I am lucky, there are five more hours of daylight.  I decide to swing back around town and chance the road.  From what Silas told me, it sounds pretty safe, minus the odd zombie.  If I hurry, I can make the farm by dusk.  I guess that my meeting with Bryce will have to wait.
         Turning from the steps, I start to make my way to the gate, when the door to the library opens.  The man who steps out is tall; over six feet, with a tangled mop of blond hair adorning his clean shaven face.  His eyes are bright and he reminds me somewhat of a politician I once met.  He puts on a winning smile and