I sit down next to Lauren on our king sized bed and answer, “I kind of felt bad for what happened but he attacked me and pissed me off.”
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” asks Lauren.
“I’m fine. His short little ass couldn’t reach me. I kicked him square in the chest and choked him,” I answer Lauren.
I exit our master bedroom and ask, “How’s mom?”
Lauren follows me into our kitchen and answers, “She has been sleeping since I talked with Lisa.”
“How did that go?” I ask Lauren.
“Okay I guess. She hates it here though and wants to leave,” answers Lauren.
“Where’s she gonna go?” I ask Lauren.
Lauren, sees me take out some peanut butter crackers from the cabinet and answers, “I don’t know, but she said she hates it here, she misses her house in North Carolina, and she is bored to death.”
“She needs to be more active and put to work. Her personality is always going and always getting into something,” I say.
“Come in Ryan?” says someone over the radio that is sitting on our kitchen countertop.
I pick up the radio and answer, “This is Ryan.”
“This is William, Ryan. I’m sorry I missed you today,” says William over the radio.
“I’m sorry about getting into a fight with Hector today. Is he okay?” I reply into my radio.
Lauren enters Fran’s bedroom, as she wants to check on her mom and also give me some privacy.
“He’s okay. He left after you did,” answers William over the radio.
After hearing what William said about Hector, I get somewhat nervous that Hector will attack Citrus Oaks.
“Should I be worried about Hector?” I ask William over the radio.
“I think he should be fine, but it sounded like you took it to him today,” answers William.
“I apologized, but it was never settled between us. I think Hector still blames me for what happened to James,” I reply to William over the radio.
“We can talk more about this tomorrow. You still want to meet with us?” asks William over the radio.
“Yes sir, I need to talk with you about an important meeting with someone,” I answer William over the radio.
“Come by tomorrow any time after ten. I have a couple things I plan to do in the morning, but I look forward to speaking with you tomorrow Ryan,” replies William over the radio.
“Me too William. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I say into my radio.
Lauren exits from Fran’s bedroom and I ask Lauren, “How’s mom?”
“She’s doing better, but she is thirsty, and she hasn’t eaten much,” answers Lauren as she grabs a bottle of water from inside our refrigerator.
“I know we have a lot of soup cans in the cabinet,” I reply to Lauren.
“I’m going to make some right now actually,” replies Lauren before she enters Fran’s bedroom with the bottle of water.
“I’m going to tell the guys that we are going to meet William tomorrow morning!” I shout to Lauren from inside the kitchen.
Lauren exits from Fran’s bedroom and replies, “Okay, I’m going to make some soup. You want some?”
“Yeah, I’ll go tell the guys really quick and then I’ll be right back,” I answer Lauren.
I exit my house and walk over to Shaun’s. Shaun opens his front door and I tell him about the meeting with William tomorrow.
“Bring Lisa tomorrow also. It would be good to get her out of this place for a little bit,” I say to Shaun.
“Sounds good. We’ll see you tomorrow,” replies Shaun.
I knock on Matt’s front door and I talk with Matt and Jon.
“I want you both at the meeting tomorrow,” I say to Matt and Jon.
Jon and I both look at Matt, and Matt replies, “I’ll be there for sure.”
“Good, actually bring Kylie tomorrow also. I want her to meet the doctor at the Haven,” I say to Matt.
“Why?” asks Matt.
“Because Danielle is a good friend of mine and I want her to talk with Kylie about the pregnancy and to check her out,” I answer Matt.
“Oh okay, I like that,” replies Matt.
I say goodbye to Matt and Jon and make my way down to Phil’s house.
Phil opens his front door and I tell him about the meeting with William tomorrow. Phil jokes, “Try not to choke anyone out tomorrow.”
“I’ll choke you out,” I joke to Phil.
Nicole comes by the front door and I say hi to Nicole. I see Nicole holding Mason and I ask Nicole, “What are you doing tomorrow?”
“I thought I’d go to the store to pick up a couple things, then hit up the gym, and then go for a stroll on the beach to watch the sunset,” jokes Nicole.
“Seriously though, can you come with us to the Haven tomorrow?” I ask Nicole.
“Yeah, I think we can make it, but why though?” asks Nicole.
“I want you and the babies to meet with the doctor at the Haven. She knows more about pediatrics than me and I think it would be good for you to meet her,” I answer Nicole.
“I like that idea. Count me and the babies in,” replies Nicole.
“We’ll all be there tomorrow Ry,” says Phil.
I exit from Phil’s house and see the Medical house. Something comes over me to make sure the Medical house is locked. I check the Medical house and find the doors and windows locked and in good shape. As I find the doors and windows locked, I feel a strong inclination that something may be off with our Medical house, but it’s locked and shows no signs of forced entry. I turn the front door handle one more time and it’s securely locked so I leave and start to walk down the Medical house driveway and towards my house.
As I make my way down the sidewalk, the front door of the Medical house opens, and an unknown person that has their faced covered exits from the Medical house front door.
The unknown person is wearing all black and the only thing visible on the person is the person’s eyes and dark skin complexion at the bridge of their nose and between their eyes.
Quietness and stealth is what the unknown person is worried about as they exit from our Medical house with a blue backpack full of medical supplies and medication.
The coast is clear, and the unknown person quietly closes the front door to the Medical house and then limps towards our unmanned West entrance platform. The unknown person limps up the platform steps, checks to see if the street outside of the West entrance is safe from danger and decides how to exit safely over the West entrance walls.
A group of zombies, outside of the West entrance walls, approach the unknown person as they stand on the West entrance platform. The unknown person takes out a handgun but thinks about what they should do. Make noise by firing a shot or try to avoid the approaching zombies silently?
As the unknown person hesitates on what to do, the group of zombies gets closer to the West entrance wall where the unknown person is standing.
BANG! BANG!
The unknown person shoots two of the nearby zombies and hops over the West entrance wall.
Phil exits from his house, after hearing the two gunshots, and looks around the street near the West entrance platform inside Citrus Oaks.
“What is it?” asks Nicole as she walks over to Phil.
Phil looks around the West entrance again, doesn’t see anything suspicious, and answers Nicole, “Nothing inside here. Must be someone shooting outside of the neighborhood.”
CHAPTER 4
SAVED BY THE HAVEN
“Let’s try to actually meet with William this morning,” jokes Shaun to me as I put my gear in the back of Shaun’s electric truck that is parked in his driveway.
The gate of Citrus Oaks opens, and four people walk down the middle of the street. Shaun and I see the four people enter Citrus Oaks and I see that it’s Jerri-Lynn, Sam, Chelsea, and Kiersten.
“What’s up guys?” I shout to Jerri-Lynn and her group.
“Just wanted to a
ctually talk with you Ryan. Do you have a minute?” answers Jerri-Lynn.
“Sure, what’s going on?” I reply to Jerri-Lynn.
“I wanted to give you a heads up with a couple trouble areas that we found, and Chelsea wants you to look at her father,” answers Jerri-Lynn.
“What’s going on with your father?” I ask Chelsea.
“He’s dying basically, but he has a lot of things wrong with him,” answers Chelsea.
“What can I do to help though?” I ask.
“I don’t know but you are the only doctor that we know,” answers Chelsea.
“Well, we have a big meeting today, but I think I can come by another time,” I say.
“Thank you Ryan,” replies Chelsea.
“What’s up with the problem areas?” asks Shaun to Jerri-Lynn as he walks over to me.
“We mapped out some groups of zombies, some downed trees, and some areas with stagnant water that is probably making all these bugs and mosquitos around here,” answers Jerri-Lynn as she hands Shaun a paper map that has markings all over it.
“Is it something that you think needs our immediate attention?” I ask Jerri-Lynn.
“I think so and I’m trying to get a group of people to clear out the large zombie groups close to here,” answers Jerri-Lynn.
“How many zombies are we talking about?” asks Shaun.
“Too many to count, but a crap load of them. They seem to be stuck between some cars and a large downed tree, but I don’t know how long the tree will keep blocking them from getting through,” answers Jerri-Lynn.
Phil drives his electric truck and Jon drives his electric car down the street and they park their vehicles in front of Shaun’s driveway.
“Like I said, we have a big meeting today and tomorrow, but after that I think we should be able to help you with whatever you need,” I say to Jerri-Lynn.
“What happened?” asks Phil as he exits from his electric truck.
Shaun hands Phil the paper map that Jerri-Lynn handed him, and Phil looks over the paper map.
“We are going to check out the downed tree and try to take out or at least block the path of the zombies that are stuck behind the tree,” says Jerri-Lynn.
“Do you need help?” asks Phil.
“We can do it. My brother and I will help them,” says Chelsea as she looks at Sam.
“How are things with you and Brody?” I ask Kiersten.
Kiersten gives a quick answer, “Fine.”
Matt, Kylie, and Lisa exit from Matt’s house and walk towards Jon’s electric car.
“Don’t do anything crazy today. We will be able to help you around here in two days. Can it wait until then?” I ask Jerri-Lynn.
“We’ll make that work,” replies Jerri-Lynn.
“If not, you let us know over the radio. I’ll tell William today about what you told us,” I reply to Jerri-Lynn.
“Can I keep this map?” asks Phil to Jerri-Lynn.
“Yeah, that’s your copy,” answers Jerri-Lynn.
Phil and I say goodbye to Jerri-Lynn and her group, and I take notice of who is all ready to go to the Haven today.
I see Phil, Shaun, Matt, Jon, Kylie, Lisa, and Nicole and the babies Mason and Mia.
Phil gets in his electric truck with Mason, Mia, and Nicole. Matt and Kylie get in Jon’s electric car and I get in Shaun’s electric truck with Shaun and Lisa.
We all exit Citrus Oaks and make our way to the Haven.
“What do you think about what Jerri-Lynn said?” asks Shaun as he drives his electric truck down the street.
While I look at Jerri-Lynn’s paper map from the backseat of Shaun’s electric truck I answer, “I don’t know but she did a good job marking some trouble spots on the map.”
“I want to go check out the locations on the map,” says Lisa.
Shaun immediately gets mad, overprotective, and worried for Lisa. I can see Shaun get mad over Lisa’s statement and I quickly say, “We’ll check it out first and we’ll decide what is best for all of us.”
“I’ve been working with my bow and arrow and I’m getting pretty good,” says Lisa.
“I heard, Lauren said you were getting better,” I say to Lisa.
“Why did you want Phil to bring the babies to the Haven?” asks Shaun as he drives down the street and is followed by Jon and Phil.
“The doctor at the Haven is better with pediatrics and pregnancy than me,” I answer Shaun.
“When are you going to have more education about medicine and hand to hand combat?” asks Lisa.
I’m taken back by the somewhat out of the blue question by Lisa and I answer Lisa, “You plan on staying around here?”
Lisa turns around from the passenger seat of Shaun’s electric truck and answers me with some attitude, “What does that mean?”
Shaun senses the tension with Lisa and says, “We are here. Saved by the Haven.”
Shaun pulls up to the Haven entrance, parks his electric truck in the Haven parking lot and Phil and Jon park close to Shaun’s electric truck.
Lisa sees several groups of people working on hand to hand combat on the football field on the Haven property.
I notice Lisa looking at the people training and say, “Maybe you can take a class here.”
“Maybe I will,” replies Lisa with some attitude.
I quickly exit Shaun’s electric truck and so do Shaun and Lisa.
Kylie is helped out of Jon’s electric car by Matt and Kylie says to Matt, “I can walk fine.”
Matt still helps Kylie walk towards the entrance to the Haven and Kylie gets more annoyed by Matt.
Phil helps Nicole with Mason and Mia and I see that as my opportunity to get away from Lisa and the awkward conversation we were having.
Shaun talks with Lisa, and Lisa asks Shaun, “Did you tell Ryan about me wanting to leave this place or something?”
“He didn’t have to hear it from me. You have been pretty vocal with your displeasure of Tampa Bay,” answers Shaun.
Bruce and Jeremy walk over to me and they say hello to all of us.
“William is just finishing up something and he should be ready for you all in a little bit,” says Bruce.
“Thank you. Is Dr. Vargas busy right now?” I ask Bruce.
“I’m not sure, but I believe she is in our Medical office,” answers Bruce.
I take Phil, Nicole, Mason, Mia, Matt, and Kylie to go see Danielle, while Shaun and Lisa continue to argue in the parking lot of the Haven.
Jeremy walks over to me as we are walking down an indoor hallway and towards the Medical office of the Haven.
“Hey Ryan,” says Jeremy.
“What’s up?” I ask Jeremy.
“You still plan on meeting with DK tomorrow?” asks Jeremy.
“Yeah, that’s the plan,” I answer Jeremy as we walk down the hallway and approach the Medical office open door.
“Can I come with you tomorrow?” asks Jeremy.
I fear that Jeremy coming with us tomorrow is something William will not allow and Jeremy’s infatuation with Jacob will only hurt the meeting tomorrow, but I don’t want to hurt his feelings by telling him that he can’t come to the meeting, so I answer Jeremy, “I’ll see what we can do.”
Jeremy gets a big smile on his face and I instantly regret giving Jeremy hope that he can come to the meeting tomorrow with us.
I enter the Medical office and I see Dr. Morris and Dr. Vargas talking.
“Hey Ryan. Looking good,” says Dr. Morris to me.
“Thank you,” I reply to Dr. Morris, but feel awkward from her greeting.
Dr. Vargas sees Mason and Mia, quickly walks away from Dr. Morris and says, “Oh my goodness. These two are precious. What are their names?”
“Mason and Mia,” answers Phil as he holds Mason in his carrier and Nicole holds Mia in her carrier.
Dr. Morris exits the Medical office and I introduce everyone that hasn’t met each other yet and I feel that something is off with Dr. Vargas.
“Ho
w we doing Dani?” I ask Dr. Vargas.
“I could be better, but I’ll talk to you later about it,” answers Dr. Vargas.
Dr. Vargas checks out Kylie, Mason, and Mia.
Phil, Matt, Jon, and I talk in the outdoor gazebo in the center courtyard of the Haven.
“Where are Shaun and Lisa?” asks Phil.
“Probably fighting in the parking lot still,” jokes Jon.
“What happened?” asks Matt.
“I’m sure Lisa didn’t like the comment I made on the way over here about her needing to stay around here if she wants to have the medical and combat training she wants,” I answer Matt.
“I’m sure she didn’t like that,” says Jon.
“Do you guys like being here?” I ask as I look around the Haven central courtyard.
“I like the Haven,” answers Phil.
I look at Phil and Phil laughs. “I meant here in Tampa Bay,” I say as I look at Phil.
“I know what you meant and yeah I love it here,” answers Phil.
“How about you two?” I ask as I look at Matt and Jon.
“It’s okay, I like the area and the house we are in,” answers Matt.
I look at Jon for his answer and Jon answers, “I like it here, and I definitely like that it’s finally getting a little cooler now.”
“Will you guys leave at some point?” I ask.
Bruce comes over to me and says, “William is ready for you guys.”
“Thank you Bruce. Can you track down Shaun for us and tell him to meet with us for the meeting with William?” I reply to Bruce.
“Yes sir, William is outside near the football field and he said to meet him there,” answers Bruce.
I thank Bruce, exit the central courtyard with Jon, Matt, and Phil, and find William on the track near the football field on the Haven property.
“Good, very good hip toss Emily,” says William as Emily lands on a soft mat with another female Haven resident.
“Ryan, Phillip, Jonathan, and Matthew. I’m glad to see you gentlemen,” says William as we walk over to him.
“I’m sorry about yesterday with Hector,” I say to William.
“Me too, but he needed it. He’s been in a rage for quite some time now,” replies William.
Fight 4 Us (Book 11): Access Page 4