Fight 4 Us (Book 11): Access

by Grenda, Brian

  “Yeah, there has to be something big going on there,” answers Phil.

  “Also when we were there three guys were attacked by the red and white people,” says Shaun.

  “How do you know?” I ask.

  “When we were in the medical tent, a wounded guy and two other guys came in and they said that the red and whites attacked them,” answers Shaun.

  “Why?” I ask.

  “They seemed pretty tight lipped about the attack and what happened, so we didn’t get much information from them,” answers Phil.

  There is a lot of commotion heard outside and down our main street near Bobby G’s house.

  Shaun, Phil, and I exit Bobby G’s house and make our way over to the people talking in front of Carlos and Gloria’s old house.

  “What’s going on?” I ask.

  “They took Kat,” answers Deb.

  “Who did?” asks Shaun.

  “These crazy church people who were in all red and white,” answers Deb.

  “Are you okay?” I ask Deb.

  “Yeah, I’m okay, but we have to help her Ryan,” answers Deb.

  Two people exit from Carlos and Gloria’s old house and it’s Sam and Kiersten.

  “What’s going on?” asks Sam.

  “These crazy church people took our friend Kat,” answers Shaun.

  Sam and Kiersten aren’t sure what to make of Shaun’s answer.

  “Tell us what happened,” I say to Deb.

  Deb replies, “We left here to get the last of our belongings, check in with our friend Jordan, and get Kat’s cat Lucky.

  Deb sees two guards removing two dead zombie bodies from inside Citrus Oaks and says, “Looks like we just missed all the action around here.”

  Deb tries to calm down and then tells us what happened after she left Citrus Oaks with Kat.

  “I like the new house, but we’ll have to air it out a little bit. It’s musty in there,” says Kat to Deb as Kat drives down the street.

  “Yeah, it smells like that library we found,” says Deb.

  “That place was so dusty, my allergies were killing me in there,” replies Kat.

  Kat makes it back to her old house and her and Deb enter the house.

  “Jordan! You here!” shouts Kat as she enters the house with Deb.

  Lucky runs over to Kat and Kat says, “There is my boy. How are you?”

  Lucky purrs and meows at Kat.

  “Let’s leave a note for Jordan and get back over to Citrus Oaks. I think we only have stuff in our bedrooms,” says Kat.

  Deb and Kat pack up their belongings and Kat writes a note for Jordan, “Hey J, we moved out and you are welcome to join us. Meet us at Citrus Oaks.”

  Kat finishes the note with directions on how to get to Citrus Oaks and leaves the note on the kitchen counter.

  Deb loads a couple things into Kat’s car and Kat brings the last boxes out from inside the house. “Can you bring Lucky out for me?” asks Kat to Deb.

  “Sure, and I’ll look over the house one last time,” answers Deb.

  Deb goes into the house, checks over the bedrooms, and finds Lucky sitting next to his pet carrier that’s on Kat’s bed.

  Kat places a box in the trunk of her car and the sound of three cars are heard driving down the street towards Kat’s house.

  Kat sees the three cars approaching her position and she takes cover against the side of her car.

  The three vehicles stop near Kat’s driveway. Kat notices that the vehicles are two red cars and a white SUV.

  Several people get out of the vehicles and one of the people shouts to Kat, “We see you behind the car! We don’t want to hurt you!”

  “Then just keep driving and let me be!” shouts Kat as she remains partially hidden by the passenger side rear tire and bumper of her car.

  “Flank her!” shouts a man that is dressed in red pants and a red long sleeved shirt.

  Kat hears people moving down the street and approaching her car.

  Deb sees Kat, from inside Kat’s house living room window, hiding against her car. Kat makes eye contact with Deb and mouths the word no and shakes her head at Deb.

  Deb sees Kat stand up with her hands above her head and two people dressed in red pants and red shirts grab Kat and take her towards their vehicle.

  “How’d you make it out?” asks Phil to Deb.

  “I locked the front door and was ready to shoot anyone that came in, but no one did. I heard the vehicles speed away from the house,” answers Deb.

  Sam looks in Deb’s car and sees Lucky meowing inside his pet carrier.

  “We have to help Kat,” says Deb with tears in her eyes.

  “We will figure something out. Go home and get Lucky out of that carrier,” I say to Deb.

  “We’ll go with you over to your house,” says Sam to Deb.

  Sam and Kiersten get in Deb’s car and Deb drives to the very back cul-de-sac to her house in Citrus Oaks.

  “When’s it gonna stop with all this shit? Fucking zombies aren’t enough, we have to deal with people wearing red or white pajamas now?” asks Shaun.

  “What should we do Ry?” asks Phil.

  “Let’s get eyes on the church, I can’t just have us go in there without knowing anything about the place,” I answer Phil.

  “I’ll get a drone over there,” says Matt.

  Matt and Phil go over to Matt’s house and get a drone in the air.

  “So much for going to see about DK,” says Shaun.

  “Another time for that, I’m sure DK isn’t going anywhere,” I reply to Shaun.

  “Let’s finish the last part of the gate and then we’ll be done,” says Jaws Junior.

  “Need any help?” I ask Jaws Junior.

  “We got plenty of hands, but thanks Ry,” answers Jaws Junior.

  Jaws Junior and several guards go with Brody to finish repairing the Citrus Oaks front gate and continue removing the dead zombie bodies.

  I walk with Shaun down the street and towards Shaun’s house.

  “Thank you for saving Lisa the other day. She told me that you helped her,” says Shaun.

  “Of course. She’s family,” I reply to Shaun.

  “I know she isn’t the easiest to be around, but she does like it here,” says Shaun.

  I continue walking with Shaun and stop at Bobby G’s oak tree. I look at Bobby G’s oak tree and say, “I still can’t believe he’s gone.”

  “I know, I keep thinking I’ll see him working in the garage or walking over to your house,” says Shaun.

  “It just sucks, I know everyone dies, but I just wish it wasn’t by the hands of that asshole Chris,” I say.

  “I know what ya mean, we all know that death is inevitable but losing a loved one sucks. Especially someone you care about. It’s something that we can’t just easily get over,” says Shaun.

  “One day at a time,” I say.

  “Your dad would be proud of you,” says Shaun.

  “Your parents would be proud as well. I remember your mom being tough on you, but she was always so proud of her baby boy Shaun,” I say to Shaun.

  Shaun smiles, and we both simultaneously mimic Shaun’s mom and shout, “Shaun!”

  I say goodbye to Shaun and enter my house.

  “What was all that noise about outside?” asks Lauren as I enter the kitchen.

  “That crazy church group took Kat,” I answer Lauren.

  “When? I thought Kat and Deb moved in here?” asks Lauren.

  “Kat and Deb went to their old house and Kat was taken as she was packing up her car,” I answer Lauren.

  “So when are you guys going after her?” asks Lauren.

  “How do you know we are going to do that?” I ask Lauren.

  Lauren sarcastically answers, “Yeah right, like you aren’t going after Kat.”

  I smile at Lauren and say, “Matt and Phil are hopefully getting some intel with a drone and then we’ll go from there.”

  Several hours go by. I’m sitting inside B
obby G’s living room and I finished writing on my computer.

  Bobby G’s front door opens, and Phil, Shaun, Matt, and Jon enter. Matt walks straight for Bobby G’s television.

  I turn towards the guys and ask, “What’s up?”

  “I got some video of the church, and it’s going to be pretty tough to get in there,” answers Matt and then Matt turns on the television in Bobby G’s house and plays the drone video he took with Phil.

  “Brody and the guards just finished cleaning up all the zombie bodies near the entrance, but the street right outside will take some more time to clean up still,” says Phil to me.

  “Yeah, it’s gotta be pretty bad right outside of the front gate,” I reply to Phil.

  Matt, Jon, Phil, Shaun and I watch the drone video. As the drone video is playing, I see something interesting.

  “Go back a second,” I say to Matt who has the DVD player remote control in his hand.

  Matt rewinds the video and I say, “Stop it right there.”

  We all look at the television at the paused section of the drone video and Jon asks, “Is that Whitney?”

  “And who’s the other person?” asks Phil.

  Matt plays the video and then pauses it a couple seconds after the previous section of the video.

  “It looks like a guy,” answers Matt.

  “It looks like Whitney isn’t alone after all,” I say.

  Matt plays the drone video and asks, “Should we check it out?”

  “Let’s worry about Kat right now as she’s in trouble and Whitney looks to be fine,” I answer.

  The drone video plays on Bobby G’s television screen and Matt pauses the drone video and says, “This church looks to have a lot of armed guards and looks more like a fortress than a church.”

  “I’m not sure how we can just get in there and get to Kat without causing a problem or killing tons of people,” says Phil.

  “Can we sneak in?” asks Jon.

  I look at the television and watch the drone video. Several red and white vehicles enter the church property on the video.

  “How can we just sneak in the church with our weapons and gear?” asks Shaun.

  I see several people get out of the red and white vehicles and they seem to all be wearing loose fitting clothing that is either red or white and they have a variety of guns and weapons on them.

  “What if we got inside dressed as them?” I ask.

  The guys look at me like I’m crazy. I feel them looking at me with great hesitation and I ask, “Like we hijack a vehicle or two and we take their clothes and get inside the church that way?”

  “I’m not sure how we could just do that though?” asks Matt.

  “Yeah, how can we just find them, not get captured, and take their stuff?” asks Jon.

  “We could set a trap,” answers Phil.

  I look at Phil for further explanation.

  “We could set up a bait person or people. We did it several times with cars and people would steal them and we would arrest them,” says Phil.

  “But what could we do here?” asks Shaun.

  “I’m not going to just sit around in a car and wait for these weirdos to come get me,” says Matt.

  “We don’t have to, we can use something else,” replies Phil.

  “What do you mean?” I ask.

  “I’ll run point on this, but I’ll need help with a few things,” answers Phil.

  “What do you need?” I ask.

  “I need to run over to that shopping center to that department store. Who wants to come with me?” answers Phil.

  “It’s getting dark now,” says Matt.

  “I only need one or two of you to help me,” says Phil.

  “I’m down,” says Shaun.

  “Good, I need one more,” says Phil.

  “I’ll go with you,” I say.

  “Good let’s get going, as Matt said, it’s getting dark,” jokes Phil.

  We all exit from Bobby G’s house and I say, “Meet me at Shaun’s in like ten minutes.”

  Shaun runs to his house and Phil drives his electric truck to his house.

  I run into my house and I see Lisa and Lauren talking in my living room.

  “What are you doing now?” asks Lauren.

  “I’m going with Shaun and Phil on a quick trip to a nearby department store,” I answer Lauren.

  Lisa jokes, “Guess you don’t need us for that right?”

  I can sense that Lisa is joking, but she’s also kind of sad. I want to see what’s going on with Lisa, but I also feel a sense of urgency to put on my gear and get ready for the trip out with Shaun and Phil.

  “If you want to come, you can,” I say to Lisa and Lauren.

  “You sure?” asks Lisa.

  With some reluctance I answer, “Yeah, more eyes and help with this trip the better.”

  “Okay, great. I’ll go gear up,” replies Lisa and then Lisa runs out of my house.

  I go into my master bedroom closet and look for my gear. Lauren enters the master bedroom and asks, “You serious about me coming with you?”

  “Yeah, we could use the help,” I answer.

  “Okay, I didn’t know if you were serious or not,” replies Lauren.

  I put on my bulletproof vest and I say to Lauren, “I was just trying to be nice by inviting Lisa, but it should be a quick trip and not too dangerous.”

  Lauren laughs and replies, “You say that and then you put on a bulletproof vest. What a crazy world we live in now.”

  Lauren and I finish gearing up and we walk over to Shaun’s house.

  Shaun and Lisa are arguing in Shaun’s garage as Lauren and I walk up Shaun’s driveway.

  “Did you say she could come?” asks Shaun to me.

  “I offered, yeah,” I answer Shaun.

  “Thank you Ryan,” says Lisa.

  Shaun gives me a concerned look, but doesn’t say anything.

  “It’ll be a quick trip and we’ll be back in no time,” I say.

  Phil walks up Shaun’s driveway and says, “We gotta take your truck. Mine’s charging.”

  “Okay,” says Shaun and then Shaun goes back into his house.

  “What’s wrong with him?” asks Phil.

  “He’s mad that I’m coming with you guys,” answers Lisa.

  “It will be fine. We just need people to keep eyes and ears open for us,” says Phil.

  Lisa looks at me and says, “Ryan, I just want to say thank you for saving me the other day.”

  I smile and I’m about to reply to Lisa when Lisa interrupts me, “I’m not sure if I thanked you or not.”

  “I think you did, but thank you,” I reply to Lisa.

  Shaun enters his garage with his electric truck keys and says, “Let’s get going now.”

  Shaun, Phil, and Lauren walk towards Shaun’s electric truck that is parked in his driveway.

  Lisa walks towards me and I say to Lisa, “I have to say something to you Lisa.”

  “Sure, everything okay?” asks Lisa.

  “I just wanted to apologize to you for my comment about you needing to stay here,” I answer Lisa.

  Lisa looks at me, but doesn’t respond.

  “I just want people here and around me that want to be here. I might have been oversensitive about it, but it means a lot to me to be around people who want to be here and not have to be here,” I say to Lisa.

  “I know what ya mean,” replies Lisa.

  “You are a valued person here, and not just because you are Shaun’s wife,” I say to Lisa.

  Lisa starts to get emotional as she is glad to hear my statement to her.

  Shaun becomes impatient and beeps his electric truck horn at me and Lisa as we are standing inside Shaun’s garage.

  “Thank you Ryan, that means a lot to me. I do want to be here,” says Lisa.

  Lisa and I get into Shaun’s electric truck. I join Phil in the back truck bed of Shaun’s electric truck and Lisa gets in the front passenger seat.

  “You ne
ed to calm down,” says Lisa to Shaun.

  Lauren feels a sense of awkwardness as she sits in the backseat of Shaun’s electric truck.

  “So what are we getting with this trip?” I ask Phil.

  “You’ll see,” answers Phil.

  Shaun reverses out of his driveway, stops, and shouts to Phil, “Where am I going?”

  “Go to the shopping center on Vonn Street!” shouts Phil.

  “You got it!” shouts Shaun and then Shaun drives towards our repaired main entrance gate of Citrus Oaks.

  “Why all the secrecy with this trip?” I ask Phil.

  “It’s better this way, plus I’m not sure if they’ll have exactly what we need,” answers Phil as Shaun exits Citrus Oaks

  CHAPTER 11

  CLEANSE AND PURIFY

  “I never thought I would be setting up some fake dummy under the hood of an abandoned car in a zombie apocalypse,” I say as I position the orange hood over a mannequin’s bald head.

  “Me either, but this should work,” replies Phil.

  “How do you know they’ll come here?” asks Jon.

  “We blocked off the surrounding streets with cones and blockades. They’ll eventually have to come down this street,” answers Phil.

  “See anything Matt?” asks Shaun into his radio.

  “Nothing yet, but I’ll let you guys know,” replies Matt over his drone radio headset.

  “Why didn’t we take the vehicles and clothes from the red and whites that attacked World of Trade?” asks Shaun.

  “Did you see those vehicles?” asks Phil.

  “Plus they weren’t there the last time we went to World of Trade,” I say.

  “What did you guys think of Level 2?” asks Jon.

  I look around the street intersection and think of a good place for us to hide. I see a small abandoned bank on one side of the street and a donut shop on the other side.

  “I still can’t get over how the mall was operating normally, and everyone was just going about their day like it was a normal place to be,” says Shaun to Jon.

  “Anything Matt?” asks Phil into his radio as Phil walks over to me.

  “I think we hide two people in the donut shop and two people in the bank,” I say to Phil.

  “Nothing yet, I’m going to go a little higher to see if I can see more mileage,” answers Matt over the radio.

  I walk over to Shaun and Jon, who are talking about Level 2, and say, “I think two people go inside the donut shop and two people go in the bank.”